1. A group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring, used as a practical species concept in paleontology and evolutionary biology.
Usage: technical; paleontology; evolutionary biology

Examples

• Paleontologists use the cenospecies concept to classify fossil organisms that lived during the same time period.
• The cenospecies definition helps researchers understand reproductive compatibility in extinct populations.
• Unlike morphospecies, a cenospecies is defined by the ability to produce fertile offspring rather than physical appearance alone.
• Scientists debated whether the two fossil populations should be classified as separate cenospecies or as variants of the same species.