Scientists find a new frog species hidden in a museum drawer for a century

PC: Long overdue: a new, widespread, species of Pristimantis (Anura, Strabomantidae) from the Chocó region and the synonymy of Pristimantis subsigillatus​ For more than a century, a frog living across the forests of western Ecuador and southern Colombia carried the wrong scientific name. It was not hidden in some unexplored corner of the rainforest, either. The animal was relatively common; its distinctive night-time call made it easy to detect, and specimens had already been collected and preserved. The problem lay in how those specimens had been identified. The mystery eventually led Ecuadorian biologist Santiago Ron to the Natural History Museum in London, where 19th-century type specimens provided the clue needed to untangle the old classification. By comparing the historic material with living frogs, researchers found that populations long labelled Pristimantis subsigillatus actually represented a different species. That species has now been formally described as Pristimantis milpe. Its discovery shows how a scientific name can remain attached to the wrong animal for generations, and how an old museum specimen can finally set the record straight.How a museum specimen helped id...