Keeled box turtle

The Keeled box turtle (Pyxidea mouhotii or Cuora mouhotii) is a species of the turtle family Geoemydidae found in China (Hainan & southwestern Guangxi and possibly southern Yunnan), northern and Central Vietnam, Laos, northern Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and Assam in India.

It is considered an endangered species by the IUCN^[1] and in its native range hunted for use in folk medicine.^[2]

Taxonomically, the species is either the only species within the genus Pyxidea, or is part of the main genus of Asian box turtles, Cuora (as Cuora mouhotii). Genetic analyses^[3] have shown, that this species is very closely related to the genus Cuora.

Description

This turtle is characterized by a yellowish brown- to dark brown- or even black-colored carapace, with a distinctive keel running lengthwise down the center of it, and a yellowish, orange, red, brown or black head and limbs. It is not as aquatic as the typical species of Cuora but rather terrestrial, preferring only moderately moist habitats with plenty of vegetation and ground litter for cover. They grow to approximately 7 inches in length and are mainly carnivorous, some accepting fruits in captivity.

Females of the Indochinese box turtle (Cuora galbinifrons) complex hybridize – apparently in the wild – with Keeled box turtle males to produce the turtles once considered a separate species or subspecies Cuora (galbinifrons) serrata (see the Cuora article for more information).^[4]

One subspecies has been described so far:

• Pyxidea mouhotii obsti (Fritz, Andreas & Lehr, 1998) – Annam mountain range in central Vietnam.

Distinguished from the nominate subspecies by its rounder shell, a reticulated head pattern and a distinct plastral pattern with more black pigments (forming larger black blotches).

The populations from Myanmar and India might represent another yet undescribed subspecies.

Footnotes

References

• Asian Turtle Trade Working Group (ATTWG) (2000). Pyxidea mouhotii. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Listed as Endangered (EN A1d+2d)
• Buskirk, James R.; Parham, James F. & Feldman, Chris R. (2005): On the hybridisation between two distantly related Asian turtles (Testudines: Sacalia × Mauremys). Salamandra 41: 21-26. PDF fulltext
• da Nóbrega Alves, Rômulo Romeu; da Silva Vieira; Washington Luiz & Gomes Santana, Gindomar (2008): Reptiles used in traditional folk medicine: conservation implications. Biodiversity and Conservation 17(8): 2037–2049. doi:10.1007/s10531-007-9305-0 (HTML abstract, PDF first page)
• 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. PDF fulltext Erratum: Animal Conservation 5(1): 86 HTML abstract

Further reading

• Bernhardt, K. (1995): Pyxidea mouhotii (Gray 1862). J. AG Schildkr. Panzerechsen 95(2): 7-18.
• Gray, J.E. (1862): Notice of a new species of Cyclemys from the Lao Mountains, in Siam. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist 10(3): 157
• Gray, J.E. (1864): Observations on the box tortoises, with the description of three new Asiatic species. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 13(3): 105-111
• Stuart, B.L. & Parham, James Ford (2004): Molecular phylogeny of the critically endangered Indochinese box turtle (Cuora galbinifrons). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 31(1): 164-177. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00258-6 PDF fulltext

External links

• Keeled box turtle Care Sheet