Cuora trifasciata

Cuora trifasciata
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Golden Coin Turtle

Chinese three-striped box turtle
Cuora trifasciata

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. trifasciata

Binomial name

Cuora trifasciata

(Sternothaerus trifasciatus in org Descr.)
Bell, 1825

Cuora trifasciata is a species of turtle endemic to southern China, known in English as the Golden Coin Turtle or Three-striped/-banded/-lined Box Turtle.

The species is distributed in China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Hainan Provinces as well as Hong Kong); populations from Lao People's Democratic Republic and Vietnam are now regarded as an own species, Cuora cyclornata.¹ In Hong Kong, the species is found in Tai Tam Reservoir area on Hong Kong Island.

Plastron

It hybridizes vigorously with its relatives in captivity and in the wild, and hybrids may be fertile. Several of these have been described as new species, such as the Fujian Pond Turtle, a hybrid between (usually) males of this species and females of the Asian Yellow Pond Turtle. In addition, the Golden Coin Turtle is suspected to be a parent of the supposed species Chinese False-eyed Turtle and Philippen's Striped Turtle.²

Threats

The species is considered Critically Endangered with extinction by the IUCN. It is an important ingredient for making the Chinese medicinal dessert guīlínggāo (龜苓膏) so it is under threat because of hunting. This is one of the most endangered turtle species in the world, according to a 2003 assessment by the IUCN.^{citation needed}

Footnotes

^ Blanck et al. (2006)
^ Parham et al. (2001), Buskirk et al. (2005)

References

Asian Turtle Trade Working Group (2000). Cuora trifasciata. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Listed as Critically Endangered (CR A1d+2d)
Blanck, T., W.P. Mccord & M. Le (2006): On the Variability of Cuora trifasciata. Edition Chimaira. 153pp.
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
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 Erratum: Animal Conservation 5(1): 86 HTML abstract
"Wetlands Biodiversity of Cambodia". Retrieved on 2007-05-04.

External links

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