Last updated 12 May 2003: removed other genera to separate pages.

A look at the

Subfamily EUBLEPHARIDAE - Eyelid Geckos

Family GEKKONIDAE

Genus GONIUROSAURUS - the Asian Leopard Geckos

	QUICK INDEX
Goniurosaurus araneus, Vietnamese Leopard Gecko	Goniurosaurus kuroiwae, Japanese Leopard Gecko	Goniurosaurus lichtenfelderi, Chinese Leopard Gecko
Goniurosaurus lui

Scientific Name	Common Name	Distribution	Size	Notes
Goniurosaurus
G. araneus	Vietnamese Leopard Gecko	Vietnam	?"	Yellow gecko with four wide brown bands across the back and dark reddish-brown eyes. Distinguished from other Goniurosaurus species by elongated dorsal scales. Can also be distinguished from G. lui by greater number of femoral pores (23-29 as opposed to 18-22). G. araneus's natural habitat is primarily rocky, being found in fairly dry and shady areas and often near caves and in mountainous terrain (Ardern & Blake). See EMBL database entry for details and Bibliography for excellent article by Ardern & Blake. B I
G. kuroiwae	Japanese Leopard Gecko	Ryuku islands, Japan	6"	Still rare, even in US collections: formerly part of the Eublepharinae but now elevated to genus level. Temperature should be upper 70s, and these lizards will tolerate night drops into the 60s. Higher humidity is needed than for leopard geckos. DeVosjoli also recommends a substrate of orchard bark with an area of green moss and cork bark shelters. Goniurosaurus apparently also like to climb, although they lack foot pads. Two larger species of this genus have recently become available from China and Vietnam whose care is apparently similar. None of the Goniurosaurus species like handling. The Japanese site Geckos of Japan lists the species and subspecies, with photos for each. B I
G. k. kuroiwae		Okinawajima, Sesokojima, and Kourijima	14-19cm
G. k. orientalis		Kumejima
G. k. splendens		Tokunoshima
G. k. toyamai		Tonakijima, Tokashikijima, Akajima, and Iejima
G. k. yamashinae		Iheyajima
G. lichtenfelderi	Chinese/Vietnamese Leopard Gecko	China (Guangxi and Hainan), Vietnam (Iles Norway)	6"	Like G. kuroiwae, formerly part of the Eublepharinae but now elevated to genus level. From the picture in Adler and Zhao the first impression is of a juvenile leopard gecko in coloration: the basic overall colour is purple, crossbanded by five thick yellow stripes edged on either side by black bands of equal width. This pattern continues along the tail, except that the yellow is replaced by white in the central bands. Darker patches cover the non-banded areas. The top of the head is brown, likewise marked with several darker patches. The body shape is extremely similar to that of the Leopard Gecko, and deVosjoli describes the Goniurosaurus species as "large", indicating they may indeed resemble the Leopard in this respect as well. However, it needs to be reiterated that these geckos are much less tolerant of handling than E. macularius. Temperature should be upper 70s, and these lizards will tolerate night drops into the 60s. Higher humidity is needed than for leopard geckos. DeVosjoli also recommends a substrate of orchard bark with an area of green moss and cork bark shelters. B I
G. l. lichtenfelderi
G. l. hainensis
G. lui	Chinese Leopard Gecko	China (Guangxi and Hainan Island)	6"	A lilac-coloured gecko with three bands across the dorsum of varying colour and eyes of either ruby red or orange. May be distinguished from other Goniurosaurus species by row of greatly enlarged suborbital tubercles (Arden & Blake). It can also be differentiated from G. kuroiwae and G. lichtenfelderi by its deep axillary pockets and greater adult SVL, and from G. araneus by its narrower body bands and fewer preanal pores (18-22 as opposed to 23-29 in G. araneus)(Ardern & Blake). G. lui's natural habitat is rocky areas in tropical forest (ibid). See EMBL database entry for further details. Robert Hill has a good article on captive husbandry of this interesting gecko. See also Bibliography for the excellent article by Ardern & Blake. B I

Bibliography

Lizards of the World, Chris Mattison

Keeping and Breeding Lizards, Chris Mattison

The Leopard Gecko Manual, P. deVosjoli et al, Herpetocultural Library 1998. Covers Fat-Tails and the other eublepharid geckos. The older version is also good but only covers the Leopards and Fat-Tails.

Leopard Geckos: Identification, Care and Breeding, R. Hunziker, TFH 1994. Not as detailed as the above but still quite good and again covers most of the other eublepharids.

Geckos: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual, Bartlett and Bartlett, Barrons 1995.

Geckos: Keeping and Breeding Them in Captivity, Walls and Walls, TFH 1999.

Herpetology of China, Er-mi Zhao and Kraig Adler, Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, 1993.

"Natural History, care and breeding of the two new Goniurosaurus species: Goniurosaurus lui and Goniurosaurus araneus", Lee Andern and Peter Blake, Reptilian 6:7.

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