Goniurosaurus lichtenfelderi ( Mocquard, 1897 )

Goniurosaurus lichtenfelderi ( Mocquard, 1897) View in CoL

Figures 10 (D 1 – D 3), 11 (D View Figure 10 )

Synonymy.

Eublepharis Lichtenfelderi Mocquard, 1897 View in CoL

Goniurosaurus murphyi Orlov & Darevsky, 1999 View in CoL

Goniurosaurus murhyi — Kaverkin (2000, in error)

Chinese name.

里氏睑虎 (lǐ shì jiǎn hǔ).

English name.

Lichtenfelder’s gecko.

Vietnamese name.

Thach sung mi lich-ten-phen-do.

Syntypes.

Adult female MNHN-RA 1897.0091 and subadult female MNHN-RA 1897.0092 , collected from îles Norway , baie d’Along, golfe du Tonkin, Vietnam; collected by Lichtenfelder (Probably Charles Lichtenfelder) .

Specimens examined.

92 ♂♂, 72 ♀♀, 14 juveniles from Vietnam examined by Hai Ngoc Ngo ( Ngo et al. 2021).

Diagnosis.

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.

Distribution.

After this taxonomic revision, G. lichtenfelderi sensu stricto is restricted to the Asian mainland. It is known from Quang Ninh, Bac Giang, Hai Duong, and Hanoi (Ba Vi) in northern Vietnam, as well as from Fangchenggang and Chongzuo in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China ( Orlov et al. 2020; Ngo et al. 2023; this study).

Remarks.

Orlov et al. (2020) verified the type locality of G. lichtenfelderi as “ Ba Mun and Cai Lim Islands, Bai Tu Long National Park, Bai Tu Long Archipelago, Quang Ninh Province ” but gave no explanation. Additionally, only a juvenile specimen of G. lichtenfelderi collected from south of the Red River was reported in this study. However, recent extensive field surveys in the area have failed to rediscover the species.