The Red River drainage specimens, according to Wu et al.’s text, have a papillose rostral cap uncrenuated with some vertical grooves on its distal margin, and 21or 23 predorsal scales, thus indicating that they are not conspecific with E. mutabilis (Lin 1933) with a papillated, crenulated rostral cap and 16 predorsal scales. This corroborates Bǎnǎrescu’s (1986) conclusion that Wu et al.’s R. mutabilis is not the species described by Lin (1933). Although R. mutabilis of Wu et al. is similar to all here recognized species of Rectoris in the shared presence of a frenum linking the lateral end of the upper jaw with the lower lip, but distinguished from them in having: (1) mouth opening not exposed, or entirely covered by rostral cap and lower lip (vs. exposed); (2) postlabial grooves extending anteromedially for half of the distance to the anterior margin of the lower lip (vs. only restricted to the corner of the mouth); (3) rostral cap uncrenuated with some vertical grooves on its distal margin (vs. crenulated); and (4) predorsal scales 21–23 (vs. no more than 16). These four characters do not allow the placement of this species in Rectoris or any other currently identified garrain genus. The species currently recognized as R. mutabilisis unnamed and possibly represents an undescribed genus.