new species..Goniurosaurus catbaensis

A rare and endangered leopard gecko
Cat Ba leopard gecko (Goniurosaurus catbaensis)
The extraordinary technicoloured Cat Ba leopard gecko
(Goniurosaurus catbaensis)3 known only from Cat Ba Island
(a National Park) in northern Vietnam, has a mesmerizing
pattern adorning the entire length of its body. Relatively
large, orange-brown ‘cat-like eyes’ are accompanied by
a head pattern consisting of a dark marbling; this leads to
leopard stripes on the body and five immaculate contrasting
black and white bands on the tail. A creature that certainly
appears to be from another world, the lizard’s long and thin
legs, digits and claws add to its fantastical appearance.
The scientific name emphasizes the importance and
uniqueness of the Cat Ba Island, the largest of 366 islands in
the 285km² large Cat Ba Archipelago. The primary habitat
within the National Park is tropical moist forest on
limestone, which houses a number of endemic and rare
species, foremost amongst which is the Cat Ba Langur
(Trachypithecus p. poliocephalus). Scientists believe the
high level of endemism might be due to the long
separation of the island from continental Vietnam. The
island was formed 7,000-8,000 years ago with the melting
of glacial ice.
Unfortunately, the other eleven known species of
Goniurosaurus have become valuable commodities in the
herpetocultural trade and the potentially limited distribution
of the new species G.catbaensis makes it especially
susceptible to over-collecting. Scientists believe that the
species should be classified as a rare and endangered
species, proposing its listing in the Red Data Book of
Vietnam as a first step. They are also recommending that the
Vietnamese government put sanctions on the collection of
Goniurosaurus species in order to protect populations and
the habitats in which they occur.

..collected from internet