Cuora
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 Indochinese Box Turtle Cuora galbinifrons
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9, see article. |
Cuora is a genus of Asian box turtle comprising 9 species with 9 subspecies.
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[edit] Description
Cuora species are characterized by a domed shell, which has three keels on the carapace. They are brown or black in color. Some species have bright yellow or white stripes down the length of the keels. Their body color is generally the same color as the shell. C. amboinensis can have yellow stripes down either side of the head, which meet at the nose, and yellow on the chin.
[edit] Behaviour
Asian box turtles are semi-aquatic, spending much of their time on the edge of shallow swamps that are dense with vegetation. They are omnivorous, but their diet in the wild predominantly consists of aquatic plants, with the occasional invertebrate, fish or even carrion.
[edit] Taxonomy
- Amboina Box Turtle, Cuora amboinensis (Suckow, 1798)
- Yellow-headed Box Turtle, Cuora aurocapitata (Luo & Zong, 1988)
- Chinese Box Turtle or 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) = Cuora 'chriskarannarum'
- Three-banded Box Turtle, Cuora trifasciata (Bell, 1825)
- Yunnan Box Turtle, Cuora yunnanensis (Boulenger, 1906)
- Zhou's Box Turtle, Cuora zhoui (Zhao, 1990) = Cuora 'pallidicephala'
Cuora 'serrata', originally known as Curoa galbinifrons serrata, is suspected to be a hybrid between C. galbinifroms and Pyxidea mouhotii, perhaps intentionally bred for pet trade purposes (Parham et al., 2001).
[edit] Distribution
- C. amboinensis - India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia
- C. aurocapitata, C. pani, C. yunnanensis - China
- C. flavomarginata - China, Taiwan, and Japan.
- C. galbinifrons - China and Vietnam.
- C. trifasciata - China, Vietnam, and Laos.
- C. mccordi, C. zhoui - known only from pet trade specimens; probably China (Parham et al., 2001).
[edit] In captivity
Wild caught C. amboinensis are frequently available in the exotic animal trade, other species are not as readily found. They are not often captive bred, but can make hardy captives. Their need for a semi-aquatic environment can make them a challenge to house properly.
[edit] Similar genera
[edit] References
- Parham, James Ford; Simison, W. Brian; Kozak, Kenneth H.; Feldman, Chris R. & Shi, Haitao (2001): New Chinese turtles: endangered or invalid? A reassessment of two species using mitochondrial DNA, allozyme electrophoresis and known-locality specimens. Animal Conservation 4(4): 357–367. HTML abstract
- Turtle Puddle: Cuora care
- EMBL Reptile Database
