Mistaken identity: challenges with specimen identification for morphologically conservative skinks (<i>Trachylepis</i>) leads to taxonomic error

It is commonly recognised that natural history datasets contain locality errors can compromise the utility of those datasets. However, another source error in these taxonomic misidentifications, and this type potentially common, particularly with regards to morphologically conservative species. For example, African skinks, Trachylepis striata T. varia species complexes each similar are confused, despite being genetically distinct. Some also partly sympatric, misidentifications likely be especially problematic areas. Using DNA barcoding, we assessed misidentification rates between applied updated identifications known distribution maps examine whether accurate representations. Existing banked samples newly collected were barcoded using mitochondrial 16S gene supplemented GenBank data. Identifications made by matching sequences haplotype networks included material from near localities. The barcode-based compared original recorded for samples. Taxonomic was areas presumed sympatry (error complex: 28%; 31%) resulted inaccurately represented distributions sympatry. Areas were, however, confirmed spilogaster/T. punctatissima, striata/T. punctatissima damarana/T. laevigata/T. varia. Our findings corroborate other studies demonstrate existing a significant, but typically unrecognised problem, This has implications historical collections, citizen science records public databases used formulation maps, downstream analyses rely on