Three names have been applied to members of the Carlia novaeguineae complex from New Guinea. All three species have been poorly or erroneously diagnosed, leading to the long-time synonymization of Carlia macfarlani and Carlia curta with C. novaeguineae. Both species were removed from synonymy in 1988 but on the basis of erroneous diagnoses. I show that each of these species is valid and provide diagnoses to distinguish among them. Because of the nomenclatural ambiguity occasioned by loss of the type of C. novaeguineae, the meager original description, and the presence of several morphologically similar species, I designate a neotype for that species. Color pattern is important for distinguishing among species in this complex but fades quickly upon preservation, making identification of museum specimens problematic in many instances. For this reason, members of this complex from outside the southern portion of New Guinea remain unassigned and likely represent one or more new species whose descriptions must await provision of fresh material.