Amboina box turtle
Amboina box turtle | |
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Adult C. a. amboinensis from Sulawesi | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Testudines |
Suborder: | Cryptodira |
Superfamily: | Testudinoidea |
Family: | Geoemydidae |
Genus: | Cuora |
Species: | C. amboinensis
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Binomial name | |
Cuora amboinensis Daudin, 1802
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Synonyms[3] | |
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The Amboina box turtle or Southeast Asian box turtle (Cuora amboinensis) is a species of Asian box turtle widely distributed across Southeast Asia. It is native to the Asian mainland from northeast India, through Bangladesh, Burma and Thailand, across Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. It is also found on the archipelagos of Indonesia and the Philippines.
The
Description
These turtles have blackish-brown to olive-brown shells that are not as ornate as many other box turtles. All have a blackish olive head with three yellow stripes on the side.
Distribution and habitat
The Amboina box turtle is widely distributed across Southeast Asia. Its range extends on the Asian mainland from northeast India, through Bangladesh, Burma and Thailand, across Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. It is also found on the archipelagos of Indonesia and the Philippines. The Amboina prefers lowland freshwater habitats from sea level up to about 500 meters and can be found in both natural and human-modified landscapes. It prefers still or slow-moving waters with a soft bottom including ponds, creeks, marshes, rice paddies, irrigation canals and drainage ditches. They are semi-aquatic and tend to spend more time on land at night; the young are more aquatic than adults. Amboina turtles do not migrate but individuals may wander substantial distances during their lifetime.[5]
Ecology and behavior
The Amboina is omnivorous but tends toward a more vegetarian diet. On land it eats plants, fruits, seeds, fungi and worms; in the water it consumes plants, insects and mollusks. The species has been observed to contribute to seed dispersal for fig trees and other tropical plants.[5][6]
Mating takes place between November and April after a brief courtship ritual. Typically, the female will lay three small clutches of two eggs each year and incubation may take anywhere from 70 to 100 days. Eggs are elongate, brittle and hard-shelled. The variability in clutch size, egg size and egg-laying season relate to geographic variability and climate.[5]
Taxonomy
There are four subspecies that are primarily differentiated by differences in the color and shape of the carapace:[7]
- Cuora amboinensis amboinensis (Wallacean box turtle) – eastern Indonesian islands: Seram, and East Timor, and other small islands in the region.
- Has a quite flat shell with flared marginal scutes. The plastron has bigger black spots, and it possesses a bigger head; well adapted for an aquatic lifestyle. For individuals suspected to be of this subspecies: Ratio of carapace length / height: 3.08. Average ratio dimensions of plastron spots: 1.21 (almost circular)
- Cuora amboinensis couro (West Indonesian box turtle) (Schweigger, 1812)[8] – south Indonesian islands: Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sumbawa.
- Moderately domed carapace, some individuals possess flared marginal scutes. The plastron shows black markings on every plastral scute. Darker in coloration, more oval black spots on the plastron.
- Cuora amboinensis kamaroma (Malayan box turtle or domed Malayan box turtle) .
- High domed carapace and smaller, more elongated plastron with less black spots than the other subspecies. It has a smaller and shorter tail compared to the other subspecies and does not have any flares in the marginal scutes. Average ratio of carapace length / height: 2.82. Average ratio dimensions of plastron spots: 2.14 (small and elongated)
- Resembles Cuora amboinensis kamaroma, but in the carapace there is a bright colored mid-dorsal line, and sometimes a bright colored lateral line. The plastral scutes possess large black spots similar to Cuora amboinensis couro.
Several distinct populations are believed to represent up to four more subspecies, or at least striking varieties.[9]
- the Nicobar Islands
- East India (Assam), Bangladesh, and possibly Sri Lanka
- Borneo, the Malaysian islands, Brunei, and Palawan
- the Philippines (Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Samar, Negros, Panay, etc.)
C. a. kamaroma has
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C. a. kamaroma from Thailand
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Plastron of C. a. kamaroma
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C. a. lineata from Myanmar
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C. amboinensis "Philippines population" from Leyte
Conservation status
Once common across much of its range, the Amboina box turtle has undergone a rapid population decline in many areas. In 2020 it was classified as
Notes
- . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- S2CID 87809001.
- ^ Slepetski, Lisa. "Cuora amboinensisAmboina Box Turtle; Southeast Asian Box Turtle". Animal Diversity Web (ADW). Retrieved 28 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Shoppe & Das 2011.
- ^ a b Slepetski 2000.
- ^ Filella (1997); measurements taken at the LCRC 2006-SEP-20.
- ^ a b c Cuora amboinensis, The Reptile Database
- ^ a b Vetter & Van Dijk (2006)
- ^ Fritz & Mendau (2002), Galgon & Fritz (2002), Buskirk et al. (2005)
References
- Asian Turtle Trade Working Group (ATTWG) (2000). "Cuora amboinensis". . Retrieved 9 January 2018.
- Buskirk, James R.; Parham, James F.; Feldman, Chris R. (2005). "On the hybridisation between two distantly related Asian turtles (Testudines: Sacalia × Mauremys)" (PDF). Salamandra. 46 (1/2): 21–26.
- da Nóbrega Alves, Rômulo Romeu; da Silva Vieira, Washington Luiz; Santana, Gindomar Gomes (2008). "Reptiles used in traditional folk medicine: conservation implications". Biodiversity and Conservation. 17 (8): 2037–2049. S2CID 42500066.
- Fritz, Uwe; Havas, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World" (PDF). Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 214–215. ]
- Galgon, Frank & Fritz, Uwe (2002): Captive bred hybrids between Chinemys reevesii (Gray, 1831) and Cuora amboinensis kamaroma Rummler & Fritz, 1991. Herpetozoa 15(3/4): 137–148.
- McCord, William P.; Philippen, HAns-Dieter (1998). "A New Subspecies of box turtle, Cuora amboinensis lineata, from Northern Myanmar (Burma), with Remarks on the Distribution and Geographic Variation of the Species" (PDF). Reptile Hobbyist (March): 51–58.
- Slepetski, Lisa (2000). "Cuora amboinensis". Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan, Museum of Zoology.
- Shoppe, S.; Das, I. (2011). "Cuora amboinensis (Riche in Daudin 1801) – Southeast Asian Box Turtle" (PDF). Chelonian Research Monographs. Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (5): 053.1–053.13.
- Turtle Taxonomy Working Group (TTWG) (2017). Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status (8th Ed.) (PDF). Chelonian Research Foundation and Turtle Conservancy. ISBN 978-1-5323-5026-9.
- Vetter, H. & Van Dijk, P.P. (2006): Turtles of the World (Vol. 4: East and South Asia) – Schildkröten der Welt (Band 4: Ost- und Südasien). Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt am Main.
Further reading
- Cuora amboinensis kamaroma, Rui Pessoa, May 2007, Lisbon, Portugal
- Becker, H. (1999): Ergänzende Bemerkungen zur Haltung und zur Nachzucht von Cuora flavomarginata (Gray 1863) ["Additional remarks on captive care and breeding of C. flavomarginata"]. Elaphe 7 (3): 2–10 [Article in German][verification needed].
- Ernst, C.H. (1988): Cuora mccordi, a new Chinese box turtle from Guangxi Province. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 101: 466–470.
- Pauler, I. (1980): Die Schildkrötengattung Cuora ["The turtle genus Curoa"]. Herpetofauna 2 (6): 15–18 [Article in German][verification needed].
- Praedicow, G. (1985): Langjährige Erfahrungen bei der Pflege von Cuora amboinensis (Daudin) ["Long-term experiences in captive care of C. amboinensis"]. Herpetofauna 7 (36)[verification needed]: 6–14 [Article in German][verification needed].
External links
- "Cuora amboinensis (DAUDIN, 1802)". The Reptile Database.
- "South Asian Box Turtle". EOL – Encyclopedia of Life.