SPECIES or SPECIE?

English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)

SPECIE or SPECIES?

Mackerel is ~a specie~ of fish (nonstandard).
Mackerel is ~species~ of fish (nonstandard).
Mackerel is *a species* of fish (standard).
A species is a class of plants or animals whose members have the same main characteristics and are able to breed with each other. Interestingly, “species” is both singular and plural. As a singular noun, it must attract “a” as seen above, and as a singular noun, it does not attract “a”:
Mackerel and Salmon are species of fish. ✔️

Nobody in Nigeria has seventy naira in ~species~ (nonstandard).
Nobody in Nigeria has seventy naira in *specie* (standard).
coins, especially those made of valuable metals, are called specie.
GAB