''Species affinis'' (commonly abbreviated to: ''sp.'', ''aff.'', or ''affin.'') is

taxonomic 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme of classes (a taxonomy) and the allocation ...

terminology in

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

and

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

. In

open nomenclature Open nomenclature is a vocabulary of partly informal terms and signs in which a taxonomist may express remarks about their own material. This is in contrast to synonymy lists, in which a taxonomist may express remarks on the work of others. Common ...

it indicates that available material or evidence suggests that the proposed

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

is related to, has an

affinity Affinity may refer to: Commerce, finance and law * Affinity (law), kinship by marriage * Affinity analysis, a market research and business management technique * Affinity Credit Union, a Saskatchewan-based credit union * Affinity Equity Pa ...

to, but is not identical to, the species with the

binomial Binomial may refer to: In mathematics *Binomial (polynomial), a polynomial with two terms *Binomial coefficient, numbers appearing in the expansions of powers of binomials *Binomial QMF, a perfect-reconstruction orthogonal wavelet decomposition * ...

name it comes after. The Latin word ''affinis'' can be translated as "closely related to", or "akin to". An author who inserts '' n.sp.,'' or '' sp. nov., aff'' before a species name thereby states the opinion that the specimen is a new, previously undescribed species, but that there may not (yet) be enough information to complete a formal description. To use ''aff.'' alone, implies that the specimen differs suggestively from the

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

but that further progress is necessary to confirm that it is a novel species. An example would be: a

gastropod shell The gastropod shell is part of the body of many gastropods, including snails, a kind of mollusc. The shell is an exoskeleton, which protects from predators, mechanical damage, and dehydration, but also serves for muscle attachment and calcium ...

listed as ''Lucapina'' aff. ''L.'' ''aegis'' would mean that this shell somewhat resembles the shell of '' Lucapina aegis'', but is thought more likely to be another species, either closely related to, or closely resembling ''Lucapina aegis''. In a suitable context it also may suggest the possibility that the shell belongs to a species that has not yet been described. Within

entomology Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

, ''species proxima'' (Latin: 'the nearest species', abbreviated ''prox.'' or ''sp. prox.'') and species near (abbreviated nr. or sp. nr.) indicate a specimen is similar to, but distinct from, a described species. The use of ''aff.'' is similar to other indicators of open nomenclature such as ''

cf. The abbreviation cf. (short for either Latin or , both meaning 'compare') is generally used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. However some sources offer differing or even contr ...

'', ''sp.'', or ?, but the latter indicate that the species is uncertain rather than undescribed.

See also

References

Further reading