This was shared with me by Piranha, the undisputed expert on TFF for trilobites…
“The letters cf. are an abbreviation for the Latin word: confer = compare in English.
When cf. follows the genus in the example: Dolichoharpes cf. reticulata, it means the trilobite is most like the species D. reticulata. Typically cf. gets applied in situations where a formal description hasn’t been published yet.
The ‘n.’ means new; as in Harpidella n. sp. If you see Kierarges morrisoni n. gen., n. sp., that means new genus and species.
I forgot to mention, you might also see: nov. gen. or nov. sp.
‘nov.’ is the abbreviation for the Latin word: nova, that also means new.
It gets confusing, especially when the abbreviation gets abbreviated!”
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