Questa specie vive nel bosco.

Because specie is a feminine singular noun, and questo/questa has to agree with the noun.

• questo = masculine singular
• questa = feminine singular

So:

• questa specie = correct
• questo specie = incorrect

Italian agreement is very important: articles, adjectives, and demonstratives usually match the noun in gender and number.

Here, specie is singular.

This word is a little tricky because it is one of those nouns that often keeps the same form in both singular and plural:

• la specie = the species
• le specie = the species / specieses? in English we usually still say species

So in this sentence, you know it is singular because of questa:

• questa specie = this species
• queste specie = these species

Vive is the third person singular form of vivere = to live.

Since the subject is questa specie = this species, which is singular, the verb must also be singular:

• io vivo = I live
• tu vivi = you live
• lui/lei vive = he/she lives

So:

• Questa specie vive... = This species lives...

If the subject were plural, the verb would change:

• Queste specie vivono... = These species live...

Because nel is the contraction of in + il.

So:

• in + il = nel

This is very common in Italian. Prepositions often combine with definite articles:

• nel = in the
• nello
• nella
• nei
• negli
• nelle

Since bosco takes the article il, in il bosco becomes nel bosco.

Because bosco begins with a normal consonant sound, b, so the correct masculine singular article is il.

Use lo before certain special beginnings, such as:

• s + consonant: lo studente
• z: lo zio
• ps: lo psicologo
• gn: lo gnomo
• x: lo xilofono

But:

• il bosco
• il libro
• il cane

So bosco takes il, and that is why in + il becomes nel.

Not in this sentence.

Here you need the definite article, because the phrase means in the woods / in the forest as a specific habitat phrase with a noun that normally takes an article in this structure.

So:

• nel bosco = correct
• in bosco = not natural here

Italian sometimes omits articles in certain fixed expressions, but bosco in this sentence normally uses the article.

It can often correspond to woods or forest, depending on context.

In many learning contexts, bosco is translated as:

• wood
• woods
• forest

The exact English choice depends on style and context, but grammatically that does not change anything in the Italian sentence.

This is the normal, neutral word order:

subject + verb + place

• Questa specie = subject
• vive = verb
• nel bosco = place expression

Italian can change word order for emphasis, for example:

• Nel bosco vive questa specie

That is possible, but it sounds more marked or literary. For a basic statement, Questa specie vive nel bosco is the most natural order.

No. In Italian, subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending already shows the person and number.

So Italian normally prefers:

• Questa specie vive nel bosco

rather than adding a pronoun unnecessarily.

Also, since the noun questa specie is already stated, adding essa would usually be redundant.

It is pronounced roughly like SPEH-cheh.

A few useful points:

• sp is like English sp
• ci before e gives a ch sound, like in church
• the stress is on the first syllable: SPE-

So it does not sound like the English word species.

It can do both, depending on context.

• vive nel bosco = lives in the woods/forest
• è ancora vivo / vive ancora = is still alive / still lives

In this sentence, because of nel bosco, it clearly means lives in or inhabits that place.

Yes, you could, and it would be understandable.

But vive nel bosco is very natural when talking about where an animal or plant species lives. It describes its habitat in a simple, general way.

• vive nel bosco = lives in the forest / is found in the forest
• abita nel bosco = inhabits the forest / lives in the forest

Both work, but vive is especially common and straightforward.