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Goniurosaurus hainanensis BARBOUR, 1908

IUCN Red List - Goniurosaurus hainanensis - Near Threatened, NT
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Higher TaxaEublepharidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
Subspecies 
Common NamesG: Hainan-Krallengecko
Chinese: 海南睑虎
E: Kwanghua Cave Gecko [kwanghua]
Chinese: 中华睑虎, 光华睑虎
E: Kwanghua Cave Gecko [sinensis] 
SynonymGoniurosaurus hainanensis BARBOUR 1908: 316
Goniurosaurus hainanensis — GRISMER 2000
Goniurosaurus hainanensis — PIANKA & VITT 2003: 171
Goniurosaurus hainanensis — DICKHOFF 2004
Goniurosaurus hainanensis — SEUFER et al. 2005
Goniurosaurus lichtenfelderi hainanensis
Goniurosaurus sinensis ZHOU, PENG, HOU & YUAN 2019
Goniurosaurus kwanghua ZHU & HE in ZHOU et al. 2020
Goniurosaurus hainanensis — QI et al. 2025: 688 
DistributionSE-Hainan (China)

Type locality: Mt. Wuchi, Central Hainan.

kwanghua (invalid): China (Hainan)

Type locality: Hainan Island, China, 750 m

sinensis (invalid): China (Hainan)

Type locality: somewhere in the central and western mountains of Hainan Island, China.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: MCZ 7104
Holotype. ECNU V0003, adult male, from western area, Hainan Island, China, 750 m in altitude; exact locality withheld because of conservation concerns, available to qualified researchers upon request. Collected in August, 2018 by Zhu Xiao-Yu & He Zhu-Qing. Paratypes. One adult male ECNU-V0059; two adult females ECNU-V0004 and ECNU-V0005, one juvenile ECNU-V0035, same data as holotype. [kwanghua]
Holotype: BL-RBZ (presumably, text is in Chinese); paratypes: BL-RBZ. [sinensis] 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 6717 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSynonymy: Goniurosaurus hainanensis has been synonymized with G. lichtenfelderi by SMITH 1935. Qi et al. 2025 synonymized G. kwanghua and G. sinensis with G. hainanensis.

Type Species: Goniurosaurus hainanensis BARBOUR 1908 is the type species of the genus Goniurosaurus BARBOUR 1908.

Phylogenetics: for a phylogenetic analysis of the genus see Liang et al. 2018, Ngo et al. 2023, Grismer et al. 2021.

Distribution: see map in Ngo et al. 2023.

Conservation. Previous studies showed that Goniurosaurus species have also been threatened by poaching for the pet trade (Stuart et al. 2006). For G. luii, poaching has even caused extirpation at its type locality (Grismer et al. 1999). The authors encountered poaching of G. bawanglingensis at night. Thus this new species is also potentially affected by over-collecting for pet trade (Zhu et al. 2020).

Etymology: The specific epithet kwanghua is a noun in apposition and refers to Kwang Hua University (1925– 1951) in Shanghai, the predecessor of East China Normal University, which has made outstanding contributions to Chinese zoological sciences.

Etymology: G. sinensis was named after its occurrence in China, from Latin sinensis = Chinese.

NCBI taxonID: 2661905 [kwanghua]
RDB speciesID: 22901 [kwanghua]
RDB speciesID: 22904 [sinensis] 
References
  • Barbour, THOMAS 1908. Some new reptiles and amphibians. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 51 (12): 315-325 - get paper here
  • Barbour, Thomas 1909. Notes on Amphibia and Reptilia from Eastern Asia. Proc. New England zool. Club 4: 53-78, 2 plates - get paper here
  • Blair, Christopher; Nikolai L. Orlov, Hai-tao Shi, and Robert W. Murphy 2009. A Taxonomic Re-Evaluation of Goniurosaurus hainanensis (Squamata: Eublepharidae) from Hainan Island, China. Russ. J. Herpetol. 16 (1): 35-40 - get paper here
  • Chen, Tian-Bo; Yuan-Jun Meng, Ke Jiang,, Pi-Peng Li, Bo-Hao Wen, Wenhua Lu, James Lazell, and Mian Hou 2014. New Record of the Leopard Gecko Goniurosaurus araneus (Squamata: Eublepharidae) for China and habitat partitioning between geographically and Phylogenetically Close Leopard Geckos. IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians 21 (1): 16–27 - get paper here
  • Dickhoff, A. 2004. Ein Tiger im Terrarium - Haltung und Nachzucht von Goniurosaurus araneus (GRISMER, VIETS & BOYLE 1999). Draco 5 (18): 76-81 - get paper here
  • Grismer L L. Ota H. Tanaka S. 1994. Phylogeny, classification, and biogeography of Goniurosaurus kuroiwae (Squamata: Eublepharidae) from the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan, with description of a new subspecies. Zoological Science (TOKYO) 11 (2): 319-335 - get paper here
  • Grismer, L. L., Ngo, H. N., Qi, S., Wang, Y. Y., Le, M. D., & Ziegler, T. 2021. Phylogeny and evolution of habitat preference in Goniurosaurus (Squamata: Eublepharidae) and their correlation with karst and granite-stream-adapted ecomorphologies in species groups from Vietnam. Vertebrate Zoology, 71: 335-352 - get paper here
  • Grismer, L. Lee 2002. Goniurosaurus: Ancient Gekkos of the Far East. Gekko 3 (1): 22-28
  • Grismer, L. Lee, Brian E. Viets and Lawrence J. Boyle. 1999. Two new continental species of Goniurosaurus (Squamata: Eublepharidae) with a phylogeny and evolutionary classification of the genus. Journal of Herpetology 33 (3): 382-393 - get paper here
  • Grismer, L. Lee, Haitao Shi, Nicolai L. Orlov and Natalia B. Ananjeva 2002. A new species of Goniurosaurus (Squamata: Eublepharidae) from Hainan Island, China. Journal of Herpetology 36 (2): 217-224 - get paper here
  • Grismer, L.L. 1988. Phylogeny, taxonomy, classification, and biogeography of eublepharid geckos. in Estes, R., & Pregill, G., eds., Phylogenetic relationships of the lizard families: essays commemorating Charles L. Camp (Stanford Univ. Press, Stanford): 369-469.
  • Grismer,L.L. 2000. Goniurosaurus murphyi ORLOV & DAREVSKY: a junior synonym of Goniurosaurus lichtenfelderi Mocquard. Journal of Herpetology 34 (3): 486-488 - get paper here
  • Johann, H. 2006. Pfelge und Nachzucht von Goniurosaurus hainanensis BARBOUR 1908. Elaphe 14 (4): 27-31
  • Liang, B., Zhou, R.-B., Liu, Y.-L., Chen, B., Lee Grismer, L., & Wang, N. 2018. Renewed classification within Goniurosaurus (Squamata: Eublepharidae) uncovers the dual roles of a continental island (Hainan) in species evolution. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution - get paper here
  • Ngo HN, Nguyen TQ, Phan TQ, van Schingen M, Ziegler T 2019. A case study on trade in threatened Tiger Geckos (Goniurosaurus) in Vietnam including updated information on the abundance of the Endangered G. catbaensis. Nature Conservation 33: 1–19 - get paper here
  • Ngo, H. N., Rödder, D., Grismer, L., Nguyen, T. Q., Le, M. D., Qi, S., & Ziegler, T. 2023. Extraordinary diversity among allopatric species in the genus Goniurosaurus (Squamata: Eublepharidae): understanding niche evolution and the need of conservation measures. Biodiversity and Conservation, 1-23 - get paper here
  • Pianka, E.R. & Vitt, L.J. 2003. Lizards - Windows to the Evolution of Diversity. University of California Press, Berkeley, 347 pp. [review in Copeia 2004: 955] - get paper here
  • Qi S, Ngo HN, Grismer LL, Wang H-T, Song H-M, Zhu X-Y, He Z-Q, Zhou Z, Wang J-C, Li P-P, Wang Y-Y 2025. Integrative taxonomic revision of the Goniurosaurus lichtenfelderi group (Squamata: Eublepharidae): Insights from morphological and molecular data. Vertebrate Zoology 75: 673–698 - get paper here
  • Seufer, H.; Y. Kaverkin & A. Kirschner (eds.) 2005. Die Lidgeckos. Kirschner und Seufer Verlag, 238 pp.
  • Stuart, B.L. et al. 2006. Scientific Description Can Imperil Species. Science 312 (5777): 1137 - get paper here
  • Wang, Kai; Jinlong Ren, Hongman Chen, Zhitong Lyu, Xianguang Guo Ke Jiang, Jinmin Chen, Jiatang Li, Peng Guo, Yingyong Wang, Jing Che 2020. The updated checklists of amphibians and reptiles of China. Biodiversity Science 28 (2): 189-218 - get paper here
  • Wang, Ying-Yong; Jian-Huan Yang, and L. Lee Grismer 2013. A New Species of Goniurosaurus (Squamata: Eublepharidae) from Libo, Guizhou Province, China. Herpetologica 69 (2): 214-226. - get paper here
  • Wang, Ying-Yong; Jian-Huan Yang, and Rong-Feng Cui 2010. A NEW SPECIES OF GONIUROSAURUS (SQUAMATA: EUBLEPHARIDAE) FROM YINGDE, GUANGDONG PROVINCE, CHINA. Herpetologica 66 (2): 229 - get paper here
  • Wang, Ying-Yong; Meng-Jie Jin, Yu-Long Li, and L. Lee Grismer 2014. Description of a New Species of Goniurosaurus (Squamata: Eublepharidae) from the Guangdong Province, China, Based on Molecular and Morphological Data. Herpetologica 70 (3): 309-322. - get paper here
  • ZHOU Runbang; PENG Xiaopeng; HOU Mian; YUAN Fei 2019. A new species of genus Goniurosaurus - G. Sinensis [in Chinese]. Journal of Shihezi University (Natural Science) 37 (5): 549-556
  • ZHOU, RUN-BANG; NING WANG, BEI CHEN, BIN LIANG 2018. Morphological evidence uncovers a new species of Goniurosaurus (Squamata: Eublepharidae) from the Hainan Island, China. Zootaxa 4369 (2): 281–291 - get paper here
  • ZHU, XIAO-YU; CHU-ZE SHEN, YUN-FEI LIU, LIN CHEN, ZHENG LI, & ZHU-QING HE 2020. A new species of Goniurosaurus from Hainan Island, China based on molecular and morphological data (Squamata: Sauria: Eublepharidae). Zootaxa 4772 (2): 349–360 - get paper here
  • Ziegler, T.; Truong, N.Q.; Schmitz, A.; Stenke, R. & Rösler, H. 2008. A new species of Goniurosaurus from Cat Ba Island, Hai Phong, northern Vietnam (Squamata: Eublepharidae). Zootaxa 1771: 16–30 - get paper here
 
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