Asian box turtle

Cuora species are varied in form; some species have a lower, almost flat shell (e.g. Cuora pani), and some have a more “arched” or dome-shaped shell (e.g. Cuora picturata—which usually has three keels on the carapace). They range in color, usually exhibiting several shades from maroon-red, dark yellow, brown, grey, and/or black in color. Some species have bright yellow stripes, alternating with black, orange, or white stripes down the length of their shells. Their body color is highly variable, but usually vivid. Some species simply have greyish-black or brown faces, limbs, and tails; most exhibit some sort of spotting or striping, of varying colors down both sides of their head, which usually meet at the nose.

After Chinese softshell turtles being poached and farmed en masse in the country, Asian box turtles are among the most heavily trafficked turtles in the world. They are taken from the forests and sold—as the main ingredient in turtle soup—to Chinese dealers, whom keep the turtles in stacked wire animal cages with filthy communal bowls of water, and little to no ability to move around. Additionally, most turtles only come together during the mating season, and generally lead solitary lives. Being in a confined space with other turtles, in addition to the sub-standard and unsanitary conditions, is highly stressful for them. They may also be wild-caught (poached) and sold on the black market to the United States, the United Kingdom, or Canada (among other possible countries), where they are more than likely to be marketed as pets. The gradual loss of wild populations via poaching is but one reason reptile enthusiasts and buyers should require proof that their animals are captive-bred, hand-reared, and not imported.

Nancy Karraker, a University of Rhode Island associate professor, has said that “…trafficking in turtles is a major issue in Southeast Asia, and it’s important that we understand the key ecological roles that species like this box turtle play before it’s too late.”[2]

Different conservation organizations are taking action to prevent or delay the extinction of Asian box turtles; in the past, some conservation efforts would encounter difficulties due to a general lack of information on these turtles at the time, with little available biological research regarding the history or genetic diversity of these species.[3]

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

Head portrait of the different Cuora species, subspecies and varieties (from left to right/top to bottom):
Cuora amboinensis amboinensis (Sulawesi), Cuora amboinensis kamaroma (Thailand), Cuora amboinensis ssp. (unknown), Cuora amboinensis ssp. (Philippines); Cuora trifasciata (Guangdong, China), Cuora aurocapitata (Anhui, China), Cuora pani pani (Shaanxi, China), Cuora yunnanensis (Yunnan, China); Cuora cyclornata cyclornata (Annam, central Vietnam), Cuora cyclornata meieri (north Vietnam), Cuora mccordi (Guangxi, China), Cuora zhoui (unknown); Cuora flavomarginata sinensis (Sichuan, China), Cuora flavomarginata evelynae (Ryukyu Islands, Japan), Cuora flavomarginata flavomarginata (Taiwan), Cuora picturata (southern Annam, south Vietnam); Cuora galbinifrons galbinifrons (north Vietnam), Cuora galbinifrons galbinifrons (Hainan, China); Cuora bourreti (Annam, central Vietnam), Cuora bourreti (Laos); Cuora cyclornata cyclornata × Cuora amboinensis kamaroma hybrid, Cuora cyclornata × Pyxidea mouhotii, Cuora trifasciata × Pyxidea mouhotii, Cuora galbinifrons × Pyxidea mouhotii = "Cuora serrata"

Listed alphabetically by binomial name, the species are:[4]

• Amboina box turtle or Southeast Asian box turtle, C. amboinensis (four subspecies)
  • Wallacean box turtle, C. a. amboinensis
  • West Indonesian box turtle, C. a. couro
  • Malayan box turtle or domed Malayan box turtle, C. a. kamaroma
  • Burmese box turtle, C. a. lineata
• Yellow-headed box turtle or golden-headed box turtle, Cuora aurocapitata or C. (pani) aurocapitata[Note 1]
• Bourret's box turtle, C. bourreti
• †Cuora chiangmuanensis[7] (Late Miocene of Thailand)
• Vietnamese three-striped box turtle or green rice turtle, Cuora cyclornata (three subspecies)
• Chinese box turtle, yellow-margined box turtle, or golden-headed turtle, C. flavomarginata (two subspecies)
• Indochinese box turtle, Vietnamese box turtle or flowerback box turtle, C. galbinifrons
• McCord's box turtle, C. mccordi
• †Cuora miyatai[8] (Middle Pleistocene of Japan)
• Keeled box turtle, C. mouhotii (two subspecies)
• Pan's box turtle, C. pani = "C. chriskarannarum"
• Southern Vietnamese box turtle, C. picturata
• †Cuora pitheca (Late Miocene of China)
• Golden coin turtle or Chinese three-striped box turtle, C. trifasciata
• †Cuora tungia[9] (Lower Pleistocene of China)
• Yunnan box turtle, C. yunnanensis - rediscovered in 2004, verified in 2007
• Zhou's box turtle, C. zhoui = "C. pallidicephala"

Cuora serrata, originally described as C. galbinifrons serrata by Iverson & Mccord[10] and later considered a distinct species[11] is a hybrid of the keeled box turtle and taxa of the Indochinese box turtle complex as shown by the genetic studies of Parham et al.[12] and Stuart & Parham (2004). A single specimen of C. serrata has been found in the wild,[13] 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.[14] 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,[Note 2] as are intergeneric hybrids such as Mauremys iversoni,[15] a hybrid between Cuora trifasciata and Mauremys mutica, which is intentionally produced in Chinese turtle farms.[12]

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.

• Box turtle

• Buskirk, J. R., et al. (2005). On the hybridisation between two distantly related Asian turtles (Testudines: Sacalia × Mauremys). Salamandra 41, 21–26.