Combinatio nova

Combinatio nova, abbreviated comb. nov. (sometimes n. comb.), is Latin for "new combination". It is used in taxonomic biology literature when a new name is introduced based on a pre-existing name. The term should not be confused with species nova, used for a previously unnamed species.

There are three situations:

• the taxon is moved to a different genus
• an infraspecific taxon is moved to a different species
• the rank of the taxon is changed.