Box turtle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Box Turtle

Eastern Box Turtle, T. carolina carolina

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines

Genera

Cuora
Pyxidea
Terrapene

The box turtle is one of several species of turtles. It can refer to either those of the genera Cuora or Pyxidea, which are the Asian box turtles, or more commonly to species of the genus Terrapene, the North American box turtles. They are largely characterized by having a domed shell, which is hinged at the bottom, allowing the animal to close its shell tightly to escape predators. Otherwise the two genera are very different in habitat, behaviour, and appearance, and as such are not even classified in the same family.

1 Taxonomy
- 1.1 Asian box turtles
- 1.2 North American box turtles
2 References

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Asian box turtles

Family Geoemydidae
Genus Cuora

Amboina Box Turtle, Cuora amboinensis (Suckow, 1798)
Yellow-headed Box Turtle, Cuora aurocapitata (Luo & Zong, 1988)
Snake-eating Turtle, Cuora flavomarginata (Gray, 1863)
Indochinese Box Turtle, Cuora galbinifrons (Bourret, 1939)
McCord's Box Turtle, Cuora mccordi (Ernst, 1988)
Pan's Box Turtle, Cuora pani (Song, 1987)
Three-banded Box Turtle, Cuora trifasciata (Bell, 1825)
Yunnan Box Turtle, Cuora yunnanensis (Boulenger, 1906)
Zhou's Box Turtle, Cuora zhoui (Zhao, 1990)

Indo-Chinese box turtle Cuora galbinifrons

Genus Pyxidea

Keeled Box Turtle, Pyxidea mouhotii (Gray, 1862)

[edit] North American box turtles

Family Emydidae
Genus Terrapene

Terrapene carolina
- Florida Box Turtle, Terrapene carolina bauri (Taylor, 1894)
- Eastern Box Turtle, Terrapene carolina carolina (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Gulf Coast Box Turtle, Terrapene carolina major (Agassiz, 1857)
- Three-toed Box Turtle, Terrapene carolina triunguis (Agassiz, 1857)
- Mexican Box Turtle, Terrapene carolina mexicana (Gray, 1849)
- Yucatan Box Turtle, Terrapene carolina yucatana (Boulenger, 1895)
Coahuilan Box Turtle, Terrapene coahuila (Schmidt & Owens, 1944)
Spotted Box Turtle, Terrapene nelsoni (Stejneger, 1925)
Terrapene ornata
- Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata (Agassiz, 1857)
- Desert Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata luteola (Smith & Ramsey, 1952)