In that, Tolkien was casually following traditional European usage, e.g. the "German race" versus the "English race", which didn't clearly distinguish between g

In that, Tolkien was casually following traditional European usage, e.g. the "German race" versus the "English race", which didn't clearly distinguish between genetics and culture. I can appreciate the desire to get away from using "race", since it is such a loaded term. The problem with using "species", though, is that it already has a well-defined meaning incompatible with "race". In the end, I expect that convenience will win out over precision.