palearctic · adjective1
Adjectival form of Palearctic, mirroring the relation between Arctic and arctic.
Palearctic · proper noun2
Coined by English zoologist, ornithologist, and lawyer Philip Sclater in 1858 as one of the six general groupings of fauna, based on shared biogeography and large-scale geographic barriers to migration. Derived from paleo- + Arctic in contrast to neo- + Arctic (Nearctic), in reference to the Northern ("Arctic") portions of the Old World and the New World respectively.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.