neotropical

adjective, often capitalized neo·trop·i·cal \ ˌnē-ō-ˈträ-pi-kəl \

variants: or less commonly neotropic play \ˌnē-ō-ˈträ-pik\

|Updated on: 25 Jun 2018

Definition of neotropical

: of, relating to, or constituting the tropical New World biogeographic region that extends south, east, and west from the central plateau of Mexico

Recent Examples of neotropical from the Web

Freshwater fishes consume about 600 neotropical plant species.

— adam popescu, National Geographic, "These Fish Keep Forests Alive—And Fishing Threatens Them," 12 June 2018
The seasonal floods nourish a diverse assemblage of insects that, in turn, sustain a variety of larger creatures, from juvenile salmon and Oregon chub to migrating neotropical songbirds.

— bennett hall, The Seattle Times, "A day on floating on Oregon’s Willamette River," 8 Dec. 2017
From the smallest hummingbirds to bald eagles, and from migratory neotropical songbirds to oceangoing seabirds who rarely see more of North America than a sliver of Atlantic coast, the diversity and the spectacle of this mass movement is powerful.

— dave taft, New York Times, "Little Terror of the Flyway," 19 Oct. 2017
Nature trails weave through canopies of Spanish moss, neotropical birds fill the air with song, and the May River twists and turns through the hearts of outdoorsmen.

— Smithsonian, "Learn more about Palmetto Bluff's Artist in Residence program.," 31 Mar. 2017
The sagging cold front from earlier this week no doubt has ushered in some neotropical migrants.

— taylor piephoff, charlotteobserver, "Use your ears to find a warbler among chickadees," 11 Aug. 2017
One of my favorite neotropical breeders is the Kentucky warbler.

— taylor piephoff, charlotteobserver, "Worried about young birds hopping on the ground? Here’s what you need to know," 12 May 2017
In fact, the CT scans that revealed the meal-within-a-meal confirm a longstanding dietary trend among boids, a snake group that includes neotropical boas, Madagascar boas, and Asian and African sand boas.

— National Geographic, "Amazing ‘Nesting Doll’ Fossil Reveals Bug in Lizard in Snake," 7 Sep. 2016
Nature trails weave through canopies of Spanish moss, neotropical birds fill the air with song, and the May River twists and turns through the hearts of outdoorsmen.

— Smithsonian, "Learn more about Palmetto Bluff's Artist in Residence program.," 31 Mar. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'neotropical.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of neotropical

neo- + tropical

Note: Introduced, along with nearctic, ²ethiopian, and palearctic, by the British zoologist Philip Sclater (1829-1913) in "On the general Geographical Distribution of the Members of the Class Aves [read June 16th, 1857]," in Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Zoology, vol. 2 (1858), pp. 130-45.

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1858

in the meaning defined above

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