Help Id?

Eric · #1 03-27-2010, 05:18 AM

We received these two males from Germany which were labeled as just Luii. I don't think they are entirely correct. What do you guys and gals think?

The first male looks a lot like a G. huuliensis.

The second male a WC Luii luii?

Reptirus · #2 03-27-2010, 01:29 PM

Based purely off the fact that no one has any huuliensis yet, I would have a hard time thinking these guys are huuliensis. If someone was able to get their hands on huuliensis they would be quite valuable and I feel pretty safe saying they would make sure not to get these guys confused with luii. I can see where you feel that the first one may look like huuliensis, the second is definitely a luii though. A very neat luii at that.

Eric · #3 03-27-2010, 08:16 PM

Got it thanks!

Reptirus · #4 03-28-2010, 01:51 PM

After thinking about it more, although my statement above is valid, it isnt the right way to go about things. Instead of just saying that they arnt in captivity so you cant have one, maybe who knows, you may have had that 1 in a million chance work in your favor and got extremely lucky. My question to you is, why do you feel that what you might have is a huuliensis, and I will try my best to help pick threw this to find out what you really do have.

Eric · #5 03-28-2010, 09:20 PM

I totally 100% agree with the second being Luii luui but the first has me a little baffled. All the Luii luii photos I've seen portrays them with a lighter body color with varying amounts of black speckling. The first gecko is clearly darker with a brownish tint to its body. I'm really at an impasse because I don't want to cross them if he in fact isn't a Luii luii like the female is. Does that make since? Also the only reference besides this site I have available is Markus's web-site. http://www.ms-goniurosaurus.de/Ferti...iensis.eng.htm

geckomaster · #6 04-01-2010, 03:52 PM

sorry guys, I've been gone for quite a while. Hope everyone's goni's are doing well. If I can put my two cents in I think the trade is convoluted by the fact that collections are done in such an unmonitored way. Some of the species only exist in protected locations, but that doesn't preclude the possibility of poaching and we aren't talking about professional biologists or even amateur herpetologists here. Most of these guys and gals are just trying to make a buck (there are gecko wines and scores of other "medicinal" remedies available in much of asia). My personal opinion is that most of the animals imported are luii luii, and in the case of hainanensis are actual hiananensis as oppossed to lichtenfelderi...but I also think there is a very real possibility that all of the gonis, both currently captive bred and wild caughts probably have some genetic "contamination" from this lack of proper collection, knowledge, and captive breeding. Like the leopard geckos there will probably always be some question as to the purity of the species and unless we want to dna test all our critters. That said if anyone ever thought they had a pure form of a gecko not known in captivity it would be wise to check it out. Try to get a hold of Grismer with some stats. Who knows what may come

Reptirus · #7 04-01-2010, 06:47 PM

I would also like to add the fact that Huuliensus are endemic to the Hullien-National Park, of the Province Lang Son in North East Vietnam according to Markus's website. As long as that info is true if they were actually collected, they would have been done so illegally. ALTHOUGH considering that Luii Also come from the same general area, and also across the border into China, I guess is is a possibility the Huuliensus could have migrated outside of the park and either bred with luii close by, or got harvested themselves... Considering the Eyelash gecko book doesnt talk about Huuliensus we dont really have any stone ways that I know of to tell them apart besides just eyeing them up to pictures and trying to figure it out that way.