Definition

A 'race' of a species which interbreed and are genetically distinct from other groups within the same species. They are allocated a third Latin name, after the two from their parent species (e.g. Leontopodium nivale subsp. alpinum). There are currently no systematic criteria for identifying subspecies except that they must be geographically distinct populations and, in some way, different from other populations of the parent species.

Adapted from Oxford Dictionary of Ecology 2010 ¹