Polygonia comma form of comma is frequently confused with the dark form of the question mark ("P. interrogationis"), but the two can readily be distinguished by the shape of the comma mark on the underside. The pale form is easily confused with the satyr comma ("P. satyrus"), which usually occurs north and west of the eastern comma's range. They can be distinguished by the upperside color, which is orange brown in the comma and tawny yellowish brown in "P. satyrus"; by the underside pattern, which tends to be mottled in the comma but appears to be more longitudinally streaked in "P. satyrus";
Serial comma can also be written in other ways that eliminate the ambiguity without introducing the serial comma, such as by changing the word order or by using other punctuation, or none, to introduce or delimit them (though the emphasis may thereby be changed): An example collected by Nielsen Hayden was found in a newspaper account of a documentary about Merle Haggard: A serial comma following "Kris Kristofferson" would help prevent this being understood as Kris Kristofferson and Robert Duvall being the ex-wives in question. Another example is: It is unclear whether the eggs are being grouped with the bacon or the