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Goniurosaurus lichtenfelderi (MOCQUARD, 1897)

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Higher TaxaEublepharidae, Gekkota, Sauria, Squamata (lizards: geckos)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Lichtenfelder's Gecko
G: Norway-Krallengecko
Chinese: 里氏睑虎 
SynonymEublepharis Lichtenfelderi MOCQUARD 1897: 213
Goniurosaurus lichtenfelderi — BÖRNER 1981
Goniurosaurus murphyi ORLOV & DAREVSKY 1999
Goniurosaurus murhyi — KAVERKIN 2000: 20 (in error)
Goniurosaurus lichtenfelderi — SEUFER et al. 2005
Goniurosaurus lichtenfelderi — QI et al. 2025: 688 
DistributionChina (Mt. Wuchi=Wuzhi Shan, Hainan, Guangxi), Vietnam (I. Norway)

Type locality: Dang Chau village, Hoang Hoa Tham, Chi Linh, Hai Hung, Vietnam (21° 12'48''N, 106° 28'38''E), 250 m elevation [G. murphyi].  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesSyntypes: MNHN-RA 1897.0091 and MNHN-RA 1897.0092, females
Holotype: ROM 32456 [murphyi] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Based on the previous description (Grismer 2000; Nguyen 2011; Ngo et al. 2021): (1) SVL 80.6– 113.5 mm in adult males, 81.0–105.5 mm in adult females; (2) external nares bordered by 5–10 nasal scales; (3) internasal 1–5, mostly single or two, rarely 1:2, 2:2 or 2:3; (4) supralabials 7–10; (5) infralabials 6–9; (6) preorbital scales 12–19; (7) supraorbital region with a row of slightly enlarged tubercles; (8) eyelid fringe scales 43–58; (9) scales around midbody 117–131; (10) longitudinal dorsal tubercle rows at midbody 15–22; (11) paravertebral tubercles between limb insertions 22–33; (12) axillary pockets shallow; (13) presence of 24–32 precloacal pores in males, form a continuous transverse series extending onto the femora; precloacal pores in females absent mostly, expect for some individuals from Vietnam with 17−21 indistinct precloacal pores; (14) dorsal ground color of head, body and limbs dark purple-brown to almost black in juveniles without blotches; dorsal ground color of head, body and limbs purple to dark purple-brown in adults, with or without small irregularly shaped dark brown blotches; (15) presence of four transverse bands, including one nuchal loop, two body bands and one caudal constriction band, light yellow with black brown anterior and posterior borders; (16) nuchal loop mostly rounded posteriorly; (17) iris orange to dark reddish-brown. (Qi et al. 2025)


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CommentIllustration: Plate 22C in ZHAO & ADLER 1993.

Synonymy: Goniurosaurus hainanensis has been synonymized with G. lichtenfelderi by SMITH 1935 but elevated again to full species status by GRISMER (2000). Goniurosaurus murphyi has been synonymized with G. lichtenfelderi by GRISMER (2000).

Distribution: see map in Ngo et al. 2023. 
References
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - 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
  • Bobrov V.V., Semenov D.V. 2008. Lizards of Vietnam [in Russian]. Moscow, 236 pp.
  • Börner, ACHIM RÜDIGER 1981. The genera of Asian eublepharine geckos and a hypothesis on their phylogeny. Miscellaneous Articles in Saurology 9: (1), 1-14 [privately printed], Cologne
  • 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
  • Forest Protection Department of Bac Giang Province 2010. Tay Yen Tu Nature Reserve: Biodiversity Conservation Value and Development Potential. Publishing House for Science and Technology, 37 pp.
  • Gawor, A., C. T. Pham, T. Q. Nguyen, T. T. Nguyen, A. Schmitz & T. Ziegler 2016. The herpetofauna of the Bai Tu Long National Park, northeastern Vietnam. Salamandra 52 (1): 23-41 - get paper here
  • Gericke, F. 1981. Lidgeckos der Gattung Eublepharis. Sauria 3 (4): 11-14 - 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 1987. Evidence for the resurrection of Goniurosaurus Barbour (Reptilia: Eublepharidae) with a discussion on geographic variation in Goniurosaurus lichtenfelderi. Acta Herpetologica Sinica 6 (1): 43-47 - get paper here
  • Grismer, L. Lee 2002. Goniurosaurus: Ancient Gekkos of the Far East. Gekko 3 (1): 22-28
  • 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. 2000. Goniurosaurus murphyi ORLOV & DAREVSKY: a junior synonym of Goniurosaurus lichtenfelderi Mocquard. Journal of Herpetology 34 (3): 486-488 - get paper here
  • Hecht, Vera L.; Cuong T. Pham, Tao T. Nguyen, Truong Q. Nguyen, Michael Bonkowski & Thomas Ziegler 2013. First report on the herpetofauna of Tay Yen Tu Nature Reserve, northeastern Vietnam. Biodiversity Journal 4 (4): 507–552
  • Kaverkin, Y. 2000. Eublepharoide Geckos der Gattung Goniurosaurus BARBOUR, 1908 - Haltung und Zucht im Terrarium. Sauria 22 (4): 17-22 - get paper here
  • Luong AM, Phan TQ, Nguyen TQ, Tran TT, Ngo HTT, van Schingen-Khan M, Ziegler T, Pham CT 2025. New records and an updated checklist of the herpetofauna from Tay Yen Tu Nature Reserve, north-eastern Vietnam. Biodiversity Data Journal 13: e157862 - get paper here
  • Mocquard, FRANÇOIS 1897. Notes herpétologiques. Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat., Paris, [ser. 1], 3 (6): 211-217. - 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
  • Ngo, Hai Ngoc, Huy Quoc Nguyen, Tien Quang Phan, Dennis Rödder, Laurenz R. Gewiss, Truong Quang Nguyen & Thomas Ziegler. 2022. First ecological assessment of the endangered Lichtenfelder’s Tiger Gecko (Goniurosaurus lichtenfelderi) from northern Vietnam: Micro-habitat and macro-climatic niche comparisons between island and mainland populations. Amphibia-Reptilia 43(1), 77-91 - get paper here
  • Nguyen, S.V., Ho, C.T. and Nguyen, T.Q. 2009. Herpetofauna of Vietnam. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 768 pp.
  • Orlov, Nikolai and Ilya S. Darevsky 1999. Description of a new mainland species of Goniurosaurus genus, from the north-eastern Vietnam. Russ. J. Herpetol. 6 (1): 72-78. - get paper here
  • Orlov, Nikolai L., Sergei A. Ryabov, Thien T. Nguyen, Quang T. Nguyen and Thu C. Ho. 2008. A new species of Goniurosaurus (Sauria: Gekkota: Eublepharidae) from north Vietnam. Russ. J. Herpetol. 15 (3):229-244 - get paper here
  • Orlov, Nikolai L.; Natalia B. Ananjeva, Tao Thien Nguyen 2020. New Record and Distribution of the Genus Goniurosaurus Barbour, 1908 (Eublapharidae, Sauria, Reptilia) in Vietnam. Russian Journal of Herpetology 27 (3): 179-184 - get paper here
  • Pepper, M., Doughty, P., Fletcher, J., & Keogh, J. S. 2025. Molecular and morphological assessment of the widely distributed legless gecko Delma tincta Kluge (Squamata: Pygopodidae), including a taxonomic revision. RECORDS OF THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM, 1(046), 046 - get paper here
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  • Smith, M.A. 1935. The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Reptiles and Amphibia, Vol. II. Sauria. Taylor and Francis, London, 440 pp.
  • 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
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  • 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
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