Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Arising or occurring between species.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Existing between species.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective occurring among members of different species; interspecies
  • adjective biology Existing or occurring between different species

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective arising or occurring between species

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From inter- +‎ specific

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Examples

  • The resulting fruit from a mother tree is planted and the seedling produced is the new mixed variety, technically called an "interspecific" fruit.

    When Apricot Met Plum... Melanie Grayce West 2011

  • Kingsburg Orchards sells more than 210 varieties of fruit, about half of which are interspecific.

    Creating New Fruit 2011

  • This literature shows that symbiogenesis, interspecific fusions (hybridogenesis, gene transfers of various types, karyotypic fissioning, and other forms of acquisition of "foreign genomes" or epigenesis) are more important than the slow gradual accumulation of mutation or sexual mergers.

    Behe and Gene discuss the Evolution of the Flagellum 2009

  • Ariel Zambelich for The Wall Street Journal Samples of interspecific peaches and nectarines from Bradford Farms were packaged in crates and marked with identifying numbers.

    Creating New Fruit 2011

  • Although every living thing eventually goes extinct in the face of changes ranging from ice ages to interspecific competition, the fossil record shows that while some species debut and are booed off the stage, there are others -- cockroaches and sharks come to mind -- whose dance with time is more waltz than jitterbug.

    Arthur Rosenfeld: Must Humans Go the Way of the Dinosaurs? Arthur Rosenfeld 2011

  • Ariel Zambelich for The Wall Street Journal Jon Quisenberry of Bradford Farms -- a genetic breeder -- picks samples of interspecific plums from the trees at Kingsburg Orchards in Kingsburg, Calif., to be tasted for specific qualities, such as flavor, size and production value.

    Creating New Fruit 2011

  • Despite their name, apple pears are not an interspecific fruit.

    Creating New Fruit 2011

  • Creating New Fruit Ariel Zambelich for The Wall Street Journal Samples of interspecific peaches and nectarines from Bradford Farms were packaged in crates and marked with identifying numbers.

    When Apricot Met Plum... Melanie Grayce West 2011

  • Spatial ecology: The role of space in population dynamics and interspecific interactions.

    SuperCooperators Martin A. Nowak 2011

  • A related area of interest is intraspecific and interspecific variation and energetics of postnatal growth in bats.

    Contributor: Thomas Kunz 2010

Comments

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  • existing, occurring, or arising between species

    January 23, 2008

  • This just doesn't seem quite right, really. Why not just interspecies?

    'Pertaining to species' is not really the primary meaning of specific, is it?

    January 23, 2008