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Species is a term used to split various unique creatures into separate groups. Numerous species populate Azeroth including "orcs, humans, gnomes, trolls, scorpids and murlocs, among many others".LoM 141 Generations of offspring from the interfertile parents of two different species can also exist.MG 175 Many races can interbreed including humans, high elves,night elves, ogres, orcs, and draenei — producing races like half-elves, half-night elves, half-ogres, half-human half-ogres, and half-draenei. These offspring are often called half-breeds.

Satyr, dryads, keepers of the grove, centaur, magnataur, and nerubians may also be truly hybrid races.LoM #?

Species is often used interchangeably with race, although this is not always the case (not all races are necessarily unique species).

Definition[]

In World of Warcraft, Blizzard interchanges the terms species and race, giving them roughly the same meaning.[1]

Unfortunately, Blizzard is not always consistent on how they use the terms. Sometimes they use the term '"race" when they mean the biological definition of "species". This has led to conflicts between sources, where one source says blood elves and high elves are the same "biological race" ("biological species" would have been a more proper use of words in that syntax), while most sources say they are separate races (culturally and biologically).

Humans are the dominant (as in “most obvious”) intelligent species on Azeroth, but they are by no means alone. Elves, dwarves, tauren, imports such as orcs, and so on all share the world with humanity. In some cases, such races have proven far more influential than humanity over the long term.WRPG 38

In the Warcraft universe, races like elves, dwarves, humans, orcs, draenei, ogres, goblins, tauren, etc are considered separate species[2] RotH 251 WRPG 38 LoC 80 LoM 141 CoH 43 APG 61,82 HPG 139,154 MG 88,175 and separate races.

For example, "since the beginning of the First War, orcs have interbred with a number of species" that vary largely in appearance; mostly with humans, "but half-ogres and half-draenei are not unheard of".HPG 139

Known lore "species"[]

This is a list of sapient "species" established in lore. Additionally, each grouping within the same group, such as various types of dwarves, elves, or trolls, are considered separate species/race or subspecies/subrace depending on the source.

"Subspecies"[]

Subspecies (aka subrace)WoWRPG 50 are generally considered lesser groups within a main race/species. However, even these subgroups are considered separate race or species themselves in some sources.

References[]

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