Chinese box turtle
{{Short description|Species of turtle}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Yellow margined box turtle
| image = evelynae.jpg
| image_caption = Ryukyu box turtle
(Cuora flavomarginata evelynae)
| status = EN
| status_system = IUCN2.3
| status2 = CITES_A2
| status2_system = CITES
| status2_ref = {{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}}
| genus = Cuora
| species = flavomarginata
| authority = (Gray, 1863)Gray, John Edward. 1863. Observations on the box tortoises, with the descriptions of three new Asiatic species. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1863:173–179.
| synonyms =
- Cistoclemmys flavomarginata Gray 1863:175
- Cyclemys flavomarginata sinensis Hsü 1930:3Hsü Hsi Fan. 1930. Preliminary note on a new variety of Cyclemys flavomarginata from China. Contributions from the Biological Laboratory of the Science Society of China, Zoological Series 6(1):1–7.
- Terrapene culturalia Yeh 1961:59 †Yeh Hsiang-k'uei. 1961. The first discovery of a box-turtle in China. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 5:58–64.
- Cuora evelynae Ernst and Lovich 1990:26Ernst, Carl H. and Lovich, Jeff rey E. 1990. A new species of Cuora (Reptilia: Testudines: Emydidae) from the Ryukyu Islands. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 103:26–34.
| synonyms_ref = Turtle Taxonomy Working Group [van Dijk , P.P., Iverson, J.B., Shaffer, H.B., Bour, R., and Rhodin, A.G.J.]. 2012. Turtles of the World, 2012 update: annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution, and conservation status. Chelonian Research Monographs No. 5, pp. 000.243–000.328, doi:10.3854/crm.5.000.checklist.v5.2012, {{cite web |url=http://www.iucn-tftsg.org/wp-content/uploads/file/Accounts/crm_5_000_checklist_v5_2012.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-04-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616121324/http://www.iucn-tftsg.org/wp-content/uploads/file/Accounts/crm_5_000_checklist_v5_2012.pdf |archive-date=2013-06-16}}
|subdivision=*C. f. flavomarginata
- C. f. evelynae
}}
The Chinese box turtle ({{zh|t=食蛇龜|s=食蛇龟|p=shíshéguī|l=Snake-eating turtle}}), also known as the yellow-margined box turtle, or golden-headed turtle, is a species of Asian box turtle. Taxonomically, it is called Cuora flavomarginata.{{cite web | url = http://www.itis.usda.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=551909 | title = ITIS Standard Report Page: Cuora flavomarginata | work = Integrated Taxonomic Information System | access-date = 2006-06-07 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20041119195305/http://www.itis.usda.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=551909 | archive-date = 2004-11-19 }}
Anatomy
C. flavomarginata has a highly domed shell, the carapace and plastron of which are a dark brown with a cream-yellow stripe on the vertebral keel. The edge of the plastron is lightly pigmented due to the marginal scutes' and plastral scutes' lighter pigmentation near their edges. The skin on the limbs is brown, while the top of the head is pale green. Each side of the head has a yellow line extending from behind the eye backward. The skin beneath the head and between the limbs is a lighter pinkish color.
The name box turtle refers to C. flavomarginata's ability to bring the plastron to the edges of the carapace. This is enabled by a hinge on the plastron and ligaments connecting the carapace and plastron, which allows for limited movement.
The forefeet have five claws, while the rear have four.
The external difference between male and female C. flavomarginata is slight. Males have a broader tail than females that is almost triangular in shape.
Distribution
C. flavomarginata is found in Central China: Hunan, Henan, Anhui, Hubei, Chongqing, eastern Sichuan, Zhejiang & Jiangsu provinces (generally along the Yangtze drainage).{{cite journal |author=Fong, J. |author2=Parham, J. F. |author3=Fu, J. |name-list-style=amp |year=2002 |title=A reassessment of the distribution of Cuora flavomarginata Gray 1863 on mainland China |journal=Russian Journal of Herpetology |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=9–14 |url=http://www.iucn-tftsg.org/wp-content/uploads/file/Articles/Fong_etal_2002.pdf |access-date=2012-08-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804155219/http://www.iucn-tftsg.org/wp-content/uploads/file/Articles/Fong_etal_2002.pdf |archive-date=2016-08-04 |url-status=live }} It is also found in Taiwan and Japan, specifically the Ryukyu Islands, Ishigaki, and Iriomote.{{cite web |url=http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Cuora&species=flavomarginata |title=Cuora flavomarginata (GRAY, 1863) |author1=Peter Uetz |author2=Jakob Hallermann |work=The Reptile Database |access-date=4 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528085501/http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Cuora&species=flavomarginata |archive-date=2016-05-28 |url-status=live }}
Ecology and life history
=Trophic ecology=
C. flavomarginata is omnivorous, and will eat a large variety of foods. "Adults favor earthworms, frozen pinkies (defrosted), snails, slugs, and mealworms. They also eat dry trout chow and moistened dry cat food, canned cat food; fruits including strawberries, bananas, cantaloupe, and papaya; and vegetables including grated carrots, corn on the cob, and squash. Leafy greens are ignored. Invertebrates that the turtles hunt for include June bug (Phyllophaga) larvae and slugs being principal prey."{{cite web | last = Connor | first = Michael J | author2 = Vickie Wheeler | date = October 1998 | url = http://www.tortoise.org/archives/cflavo.html | title = The Chinese Box Turtle | access-date = 2006-06-11 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060613065001/http://tortoise.org/archives/cflavo.html | archive-date = 2006-06-13 | url-status = live }}
Systematics and taxonomic history
In 1863, John Edward Gray described the species as Cistoclemmys flavomarginata. It was later moved to Cyclemys, and then to Cuora. In the 2012 issue of the Turtle Taxonomy Working Group's Checklist, the species is listed as Cuora with two recognized subspecies.
Two subspecies have been recognised:
This species has hybridized with Mauremys japonica in captivity and with female Ryukyu black-breasted leaf turtles both in captivity and in the wild.{{cite journal|author1=Buskirk, James R. |author2=Parham, James F. |author3=Feldman, Chris R. |year=2005 |title=On the hybridisation between two distantly related Asian turtles (Testudines: Sacalia × Mauremys) |journal=Salamandra |volume=41 |pages=21–26 |url=http://cc.usu.edu/~crfeldman/Buskirk_et_al_05.pdf }}{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
File:Cistoclemmys flavomarginata Stuffed specimen.jpg, Tokyo, Japan.]]
Conservation
The yellow-margined box turtle is considered to be an endangered species by the IUCN. Threats to the Taiwanese population include habitat loss due to expansion of cultivated lands.
== References ==
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{{Geoemydidae}}
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