Morphological and molecular data warrant the description of a new species of the genus Scutiger (Anura, Megophryidae) from the Central Himalaya

Recent phylogenetic studies in Himalayan lazy toads of the genus <i>Scutiger</i> Theobald, 1868 revealed the presence of genetically deeply divergent lineages. The taxonomy of <i>S.nepalensis</i> sensu lato was re-assessed based on museum material considering molecular and morphological data. The results strongly support the recognition of a new species, <i>S.kanjiroba</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> distributed along the Nepalese Kanjiroba massif. It is further shown that <i>S.sikimmensis</i> has an apparently much more restricted distribution range than previously thought. The frequent misidentification of <i>Scutiger</i> across large areas of the Himalaya-Tibet area highlights the significance of careful taxonomic evaluation of collection material and the need for the direct morphological comparison of closely related species when describing new species.