subrace

A subrace is a division within a race, typically a secondary classification beneath a primary racial category.

The term appears most often in fantasy role-playing games, where races like elves or dwarves subdivide into distinct varieties with different traits: Players can choose from several elf subraces, including high elves and wood elves.

In older anthropological and pseudoscientific contexts, subrace referred to subdivisions of human racial categories—usage now considered outdated and scientifically discredited.