Cuora cyclornata

Vietnamese three-striped box turtle
Vietnamese Three-striped Box Turtle Cuora cyclornata
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Testudinoidea
Family:	Geoemydidae
Subfamily:	Geoemydinae
Genus:	Cuora
Species:	C. cyclornata
Binomial name
Cuora cyclornata Blanck, Mccord & Le, 2006

The Vietnamese three-striped box turtle (Cuora cyclornata) also known as green rice turtle in China, is a species of the southeast Asian Genus Cuora (family Geoemydidae). It is distributed from the extreme southern part of the Chinese Guangxi Province southwards to central Vietnam and central Laos People's Democratic Republic. This species reaches up to 30 cm straight carapace length and is thus the largest Cuora species. Due to demand of Chinese TCM this species is nearly extinct in the wild but is readily bred in Chinese turtle farms.^[1] Extremely high prices are paid for this species in China. It can be distinguished from Cuora trifasciata by its larger size and generally more oval or rounder shell, which is usually also flatter, a white, pink or orange chin and head coloration with an orange-brownish-olive dorsal head pattern and less black pigments.

Subspecies

Two subspecies are currently recognized:^[2]

The Central Vietnamese three-striped box turtle (Cuora cyclornata cyclornata)

Occurring in Central Vietnam and adjacent Laos, this subspecies can easily be distinguished from Cuora trifasciata and C.cyclornata meieri by its orange chin, its round carapace appearance, the Cuora mccordi/ Boletus like plastral pattern i.e. a generally large black blotch extending from the Anal scutes to the pectorals (in C.trifasciata & C.c.meieri extending to the gulars) with a thin black vertical black stripe along the pectoral-humeral suture only and two separated black longitudinal bars on the gular scutes. This subspecies can reach a carapace length of up to 25 cm, males are smaller than females (as usual in Cuora species).

The northern Vietnamese or Meiers three-striped box turtle (Cuora cyclornata meieri)

Occurring in extreme southwestern Guangxi Province, China and adjacent northern Vietnam, this subspecies can be differentiated from the C.cyclornata cyclornata and C.trifasciata by the oval shell shape, a white to pinkish chin, rounded humeral-pectoral sutures and a filled Boletus plastral pattern. This subspecies can reach a carapace length of up to 30 cm, males are smaller than females (as usual in Cuora species)

Gallery

• 

  Female C.c.cyclornata

• 

  Plastron C.c.cyclornata

• 

  Female C.c.meieri

• 

  Plastron C.c.meieri

References

1. ^ Zhou, T.; McCord, W.; Blanck, T. & Li, P.P. 2007. Cuora trifasciata and Cuora cyclornata - captive breeding in China. Reptilia (GB) (50): 68-73
2. ^ Blanck, T., W.P. Mccord & M. Le (2006): On the Variability of Cuora trifasciata. Edition Chimaira. 153pp.