sympatric

adjective

sym·pat·ric sim-ˈpa-trik

: occurring in the same area

: occupying the same geographical range without loss of identity from interbreeding

sympatric species

also : occurring between populations that are not geographically separated

sympatric speciation

compare allopatric

sympatrically

sim-ˈpa-tri-k(ə-)lē

adverb

sympatry

ˈsim-ˌpa-trē

noun

Examples of sympatric in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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And among the types of speciation that do not, the most important is called sympatric. —

Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 10 May 2023 These two species are sympatric and exhibit very different behaviors. —

Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 17 Dec. 2011 But other researchers say the research appears to show how sympatric speciation happens—and in this case, happened so quickly. —

Elizabeth Pennisi, Science | AAAS, 25 Mar. 2021

Word History

Etymology

sym- + Greek pátra "native country, homeland" (derivative from the stem of patḗr "father") + -ic entry 1 — more at father entry 1

Note: The word was introduced by the British biologist Edward Bagnall Poulton (1856-1943) in the 1903 Presidential Address to the Entomological Society of London, published in the Transactions of the Entomological Society of London for 1903 (London, 1903-04), p. xc.

First Known Use

circa 1904, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of sympatric was circa 1904

See more words from the same year