Pyxidea mouhotii

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Keeled Box Turtle

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Geoemydidae
Genus:	Cuora
Species:	C. mouhotii

Binomial name

Cuora mouhotii
Gray, 1862

Synonyms

Pyxidea mouhotii

Keeled Box Turtle (Cuora mouhotii) is a species of turtle found in China (Hainan), Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and India. Formerly the only species within the genus Pyxidea, modern sources synonimize Pyxidea with the other genus of Asian box turtle, Cuora. It is characterized by a yellow colored carapace, with a distinctive keel running lengthwise down the center of it, and a dark head and limbs. They not as aquatic as other species of Cuora, preferring only moderately moist habitats with plenty of vegetation and ground litter for cover. They grow to approximately 7 inches in length and are omnivorous.

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[edit] References

Asian Turtle Trade Working Group (2000). Pyxidea mouhotii. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Listed as Endangered (EN A1d+2d v2.3)
Bernhardt, K. 1995 Pyxidea mouhotii (Gray 1862) J. AG Schildkr. Panzerechsen 2/95: 7-18
Gray, J.E. 1862 Notice of a new species of Cyclemys from the Lao Mountains, in Siam. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (3) 10: 157
Gray, J.E. 1864 Observations on the box tortoises, with the description of three new asiatic species. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3) 13: 105-111
Parham, James Ford; W. Brian Simison; Kenneth H. Kozak; Chris R. Feldman and Haitao Shi 2001 New Chinese turtles: endangered or invalid? A reassessment of two species using mitochondrial DNA, allozyme electrophoresis and known-locality specimens. Animal Conservation 4: 357-367 [erratum in Animal Conservation 5:86]
Stuart, B.L. and James Ford Parham 2004 Molecular phylogeny of the critically endangered Indochinese box turtle (Cuora galbinifrons). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 31 (1): 164-177