What is the species of the demon Ravana?

Ravana is traditionally described as a rakshasa, a powerful supernatural being in the Ramayana.

He is the principal antagonist of the epic and the king of Lanka. In the story, Ravana abducts Sita after using the demon Maricha and a deceptive golden-deer form to draw Rama and Lakshmana away from their forest dwelling. Rama eventually defeats and kills him in the Lanka war.

Rakshasa is often translated as “demon,” but the category is richer than the English word suggests. In Hindu mythology, rakshasas are shape-shifting beings associated in many stories with wilderness, violence, magical powers, and opposition to ritual order. They can be antagonists, but not every rakshasa is identical in personality or moral status.

Ravana is sometimes loosely called an asura or demon king in popular retellings. For this question, however, rakshasa is the specific traditional classification. Naga refers to serpent beings, and yaksha generally refers to nature- and treasure-associated spirits.