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Two new continental species of Goniurosaurus, G. luii from the Guangxi Province and the Island of Hainan, China, and G. araneus from northern Vietnam, are described herein. An evolutionary classification consistent with the phylogenetic pattern (luii + araneus) + ((lichtenfelderi + hainanensis) + (yamashinae + ((orientalis + kuroiwae) + (toyamai + splendens))) is proposed, elevating the endemic insular subspecies of G. kuriowae and G. lichtenfelderi to full species. A historical biogeographical scenario is pre- sented invoking extinction of a continental ancestor of the kuroiwae and lichtenfelderi groups. Conservation efforts are needed to ensure the safety of the decreasing wild populations of G. luii and G. araneus which are being exported out of their respective countries for the international pet trade at an alarming rate. The genus Goniurosaurus, as it is currently constituted, contains two species; G. kuroiwae from the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan, composed of five subspecies (Grismer et al., 1994), and G. lichtenfelderi from islands in the Gulf of Tonkin in the South China Sea and adjacent northern Vietnam (Ota, 1998), containing two subspecies (Grismer, 1987). Grismer et al. (1994) noted the likely occurrence of an unidentified continental Goniurosaurus from the Guizhou Province of |
