OKINAWA SLUG SITE

Miscellaneous Abbreviations

aff. or affin.
aff. or affin. are abbreviations from a Latin word (affinis) and means to be 'related' to or be 'adjacent' to. Frequently used by some taxonomists that, for example, an organism which you are relatively certain is not a named species but rather one related to it. This has no taxonomic status and is just a convenient way of temporarily naming an animal until its true identity can be resolved.
cf.
cf. is an abbreviation from a Latin word (confer) and means 'refer to' or 'compare with'. So when, as an example, Discodoris cf. palma is used it means the writer is not certain what it is but it could possibly be Discodoris palma or perhaps something closely related, or at least similar in appearance. This has no taxonomic status and is just a convenient way of temporarily naming an animal until its true identity can be resolved.
More abbreviations to be added at a later date.

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See also the partially abridged portion of the glossary from the 1985 edition of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) which may help in understanding some of the taxonomy terms in dealing with the "type" designations:

Munch, Edvard 1863 -- 1944 Painter, born in L飆en, Norway. He studied in Oslo, travelled in Europe, and finally settled in Norway in 1908. In Paris he came under the influence of Gauguin. He was obsessed by subjects such as death and love, which he illustrated in an Expressionist Symbolic style, using bright colours and a tortuously curved design, as in The Scream (1893). His engravings influenced die Br𡡷ke in Germany.

The Scream (1893) by Edvard Munch
[Mouseover image for information on Edvard Munch]