Meristogenys phaeomerus was described by Inger & Gritis (1983) from central Sarawak. However, later on some of the records in the literature were corrected and assigned to other species of Meristogenys. This rendered M. phaeomerus mysterious and the validity of the taxon is questionable. To settle the case based on morphology will be difficult. Extraction of DNA from the type series at the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, could, however, resolve the case in the future. For the time being, we list M. phaeomerus as Bornean Meristogenys species, despite its uncorroborated status.