Cuora couro couro

(Schweigger, 1812)

Vernacular names
English : Indo-Malayan box turtle
French : Tortue boite de Malaisie

Classification
Class : Reptilia
Order : Testudines
Family : Geoemydidae
Notes : 1 other subspecies known. Recently split from C. amboinensis

Identification
Adults can reach a shell length of 20 cm. Domed shell, back dark grey to nearly black. Yellowish plastron with large black blotches. Blackish head with three horizontal yellow stripes, the upper one reaching neck. Subspecies darker.

Range and habitat
This subspecies occurs in south-east Malaysia, Sumatra and Java, east to Sumbawa. Species also found on mainland south-east Asia, from Thailand southwards, then on Borneo and in north Philippines where it has been introduced. Lives in marshes, ponds, pools, rice paddies and forest areas nearby.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : ENDANGERED (as C. amboinensis)
CITES : Appendix I
Status : This species is on the verge of being critically endangered. It is poached in unsustainable numbers and suffers from habitat loss as well. This species has been split from Cuora amboinensis and likely requires reassessment.
Ex-Situ Programs : EEP in Europe

Observation

 

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