Plural form of 'fauna' (all the animals of a particular region or time period), used in scientific Latin contexts.
This is the Latin plural of 'fauna'. In classical Latin, '-ae' was a common feminine plural ending. 'Fauna' itself comes from Latin mythology—Fauna was a Roman goddess of nature and animals, sister to Faunus.
Scientists still use Latin plurals for technical precision! While most English speakers would say 'faunas', trained biologists might use 'faunae' in formal publications. It's a linguistic fossil that shows how Latin remains embedded in scientific language even today.
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