What is “genome size”?
Genome size, as defined here, is the haploid nuclear DNA content, or the amount of DNA in one copy of a species’ chromosomes. Haploid DNA content is also referred to as the “C-value”. For diploid organisms, C-value and genome size are the same thing. For polyploids, it’s a little more complicated, because the C-value may actually include several genomes. I have side-stepped this issue here, because the vast majority of animals are diploids, and because “genome size” is a much better known term than “C-value”.
