In 1957, Troughton described the wild dog of New Guinea, naming it Canis hallstromi. Here the description given by Troughton is expanded by the addition of morphological, molecular and behavioural information collected from both captive and wild New Guinea singing dogs subsequent to the original description. The data support Troughton's identification of this canid as a unique taxon, although further studies are needed to clarify the exact level of taxonomic differentiation of this rare and possibly highly endangered canid.