Cf?

[Rey82]

I have been reading apisto books and I don't understand what cf. means when describing certain apisto species.

 

[Lisachromis]

cf. is an abbreviation for the Latin word confer, meaning "compare" or "consult." It is used in binomial nomenclature by placing before the species name to indicate that the species is not confirmed.

Basically it's saying it appears to be that species, but it may not be.

e.g. A. cf. elizabethae.

So, it appears to be elizabethae, but we don't know for sure.

I got the below from - http://www.thekrib.com/Apisto/latin.html

The International Code for Zoological Nomenclature is not a
complicated book to be used, and it says:
- aff. = affinis, to species you know are distinct, but closely
related. (ex: Apistogramma aff. agassizii, means a fish you know is
NOT agassizii, but a related species to it)
- cf. = confer, to species you supose to be same. (ex: Apistogramma
cf. agassizii, means a fish you believe to be agassizii, but needs
better scientific determination to confirm)

 

[Rey82]

cf. is an abbreviation for the Latin word confer, meaning "compare" or "consult." It is used in binomial nomenclature by placing before the species name to indicate that the species is not confirmed.

Basically it's saying it appears to be that species, but it may not be.

e.g. A. cf. elizabethae.

So, it appears to be elizabethae, but we don't know for sure.

I got the below from - http://www.thekrib.com/Apisto/latin.html

Thank you for the quick response. I have been scratching my head due to this question.

 

[apistodave]

In some contexts usually capitalised like this- CF- it means color form too--this is an informal connotation and not scientific.