>>For instance when discussing a new, unceremonious species of salamander. (e.g. Batrachoseps sp. nov. Fairview)? The nov. is sometimes used when labeling the Fairview Slender Salamander and many other not formally recognized species.

sp. nov. or sp. n. are abbreviations for "species nova", or new species in Latin. It is added to a name in the original description to clearly denote the authors' intent to describe the species as new, as opposed to just chucking names around for a giggle.

Cheers,

Wolfgang
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