 The Zapata rail was formally described by American herpetologist Thomas Barbour and his compatriot , ornithologist James Lee Peters , in 1927 . They considered it distinctive enough to merit its own genus , Cyanolimnas . The genus name derives from Ancient Greek kuanos " dark blue " and Modern Latin limnas " rail or crake " ; the specific name cerverai honours the rail 's discoverer , Fermín Zanón Cervera , a Spanish soldier who had stayed on after the Spanish – American War and became a professional naturalist . 
