Paleonet: Expressing uncertainty

[Plotnick, Roy E]

I have a specimen from a new locality that I can with some, but not complete certainty, assign to an existing species. In the Systematic Paleontology section of the paper, what is the best way to formally express this uncertainty?  Where does the "?" go?

While we are it , what is the current best practice for describing uncertainty of identification or taxonomic placement; i.e., what is the modern usage of .aff, .cf, ?, sp., incertae sedis, and so on.  Is there a standard reference on usage?
Thanks - Roy

Roy E. Plotnick
Professor Emeritus

Department of Earth and Environmental Sciencessp.,
University of Illinois at Chicago
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"The scientific celebrities, forgetting their molluscs and glacial periods, gossiped about art, while devoting themselves to oysters and ices with characteristic energy.." -Little Women, Louisa  May Alcott

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