The abbreviation ''cf.'' (short for the la, confer/conferatur, both meaning "compare") is used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. Style guides recommend that ''cf.'' be used only to suggest a comparison, and the word "see" be used to point to a source of information.
Biological use
In
biological naming conventions, ''cf.'' is commonly placed between the
genus name
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
and the
species name
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bo ...
to describe a specimen that is hard to identify because of practical difficulties, such as poor preservation. For example, " cf. " indicates that the specimen is in the genus ''
Barbus
''Barbus'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. The type species of ''Barbus'' is the common barbel, first described as ''Cyprinus barbus'' and now named ''Barbus barbus''. ''Barbus'' is the namesake genus of the subfamily B ...
'' and believed to be , but the actual species-level identification cannot be certain.
''Cf.'' can also be used to express a possible identity, or at least a significant resemblance, such as between a newly observed specimen and a known
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
or
taxon
In biology, a taxon ( back-formation from '' taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular n ...
.
Such a usage might suggest a specimen's membership of the same genus or possibly of a shared higher taxon. For example, in the note ", cf. ", the author is confident of the order and family (
Diptera:
Tabanidae
Horse-flies or horseflies are true flies in the family Tabanidae in the insect order Diptera. They are often large and agile in flight, and only the female horseflies bite animals, including humans, to obtain blood. They prefer to fly in su ...
) but can only suggest the genus (''
Tabanus'') and has no information favouring a particular species.
See also
*
Aff. ''Species affinis'' (commonly abbreviated to: ''sp.'', ''aff.'', or ''affin.'') is taxonomic terminology in zoology and botany. In open nomenclature it indicates that available material or evidence suggests that the proposed species is related to, h ...
*
Citation signal
*
List of Latin abbreviations
This is a list of common Latin abbreviations. Nearly all the abbreviations below have been adopted by Modern English. However, with some exceptions (for example, ''versus'' or ''modus operandi''), most of the Latin referent words and phrases ar ...
* ''
Viz.''
References
External links
* {{Wiktionary-inline, cf.
Abbreviations
Latin words and phrases