Asian box turtle

Updated on Nov 28, 2023

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Kingdom Animalia Order Testudines Subfamily Geoemydinae Higher classification Geoemydinae		Phylum Chordata Family Geoemydidae Scientific name Cuora Rank Genus

Lower classifications Chinese box turtle, Golden coin turtle, Amboina box turtle, Indochinese box turtle, Yellow‑headed box turtle

Asian box turtles are turtles of the genus Cuora in the family Geoemydidae. There are about 12 species. The keeled box turtle (Pyxidea mouhotii syn. Cuora mouhotii) is often included in this genus, or separated in the monotypic genus Pyxidea. Genus Cuora is distributed from China to Indonesia and the Philippines, throughout mainland south-east Asia and into nothern India and even Buthan.

Asian box turtles

Description

Cuora species are characterized by a low (e.g. Cuora pani) to high (e.g. Cuora picturata) domed shell, which usually has three keels on the carapace. They are reddish, yellowish, brown, grey, and/or black in color. Some species have bright yellow, black, orange, or white stripes down the length of their keels. Their body color is highly variable, but usually very intense. Most species show stripes of variable color down either side of their heads, which usually meet at the nose.

Behavior

Asian box turtle South Asian box turtle photo Cuora amboinensis G24282 ARKive

Asian box turtles are terrestrial, semiaquatic or mainly aquatic, most spending much of their time on the edge of shallow swamps, streams or pond that are dense with vegetation. Most are omnivorous, but carnivores do occur.

Taxonomy and systematics

Listed alphabetically by binomial name. Cuora]. The Reptile Database

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Amboina box turtle, C. amboinensis (four subspecies)

Amboina box turtle, C. a. amboinensis

Javanese box turtle, C. a. couro

Malayan box turtle, C. a. kamaroma

Lineated amboina box turtle, C. a. lineata

Yellow-headed or golden-headed box turtle, Cuora aurocapitata or C. (pani) aurocapitata

Bourret's box turtle, C. bourreti

Vietnamese three-striped box turtle, Cuora cyclornata (two subspecies)

Chinese box turtle, yellow-margined box turtle, or snake-eating turtle, C. flavomarginata (three subspecies)

Indochinese box turtle or Indochinese flowerback box turtle, C. galbinifrons

McCord's box turtle, C. mccordi

Keeled box turtle, C. mouhotii (two subspecies)

Pan's box turtle, C. pani = "C. chriskarannarum"

Southern Vietnamese box turtle, C. picturata

Golden coin turtle or Chinese three-striped box turtle, C. trifasciata

Yunnan box turtle, C. yunnanensis - rediscovered in 2004, verified in 2007.

Zhou's box turtle, C. zhoui = "C. pallidicephala"

Asian box turtle Asian Box Turtles Box Turtles

Cuora serrata, originally described as C. galbinifrons serrata by Iverson & Mccord and later considered a distinct species are hybrids of the keeled box turtle and taxa of the Indochinese box turtle complex as shown by the genetic studies of Parham et al. and Stuart & Parham (2004). A single specimen of C. serrata has been found in the wild, lending credence to the possibility that other specimens arose through natural hybridization or even from wild populations. No Chinese turtle farm is known to produce C. serrata-like specimens. The occurrence of wild hybrids is often regarded as "evolution in progress", a terminology and point of view that is not always accepted. It has yet to be confirmed, whether all C. serrata from the wild have originated by direct hybridization of C. mouhotii and C. galbinifrons, or also by "hybridisation" of C. serrata × C. serrata.

Unnamed hybrids of several other Cuora taxa are also known, as are intergeneric hybrids such as Mauremys iversoni, a hybrid between Cuora trifasciata and Mauremys mutica which are intentionally produced in Chinese turtle farms.

In captivity

Wild-caught C. amboinensis specimens were frequently available in the exotic animal trade, but are getting rarer now; other species are rare to commercially extinct.

References

Asian box turtle Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA