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Cuora trifasciata (BELL, 1825)

IUCN Red List - Cuora trifasciata - Critically Endangered, CR
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Higher TaxaGeoemydidae (Geoemydinae), Testudinoidea, Testudines (turtles)
SubspeciesCuora trifasciata trifasciata (BELL 1825)
Cuora trifasciata luteocephala BLANCK, PROTIVA, ZHOU, LI, CROW & TIEDEMANN 2017 
Common NamesE: Chinese Three-striped Box Turtle, Three-banded Box Turtle [trifasciata]
E: Hainan Three-striped Box Turtle [luteocephala]
G: Dreistreifen-Scharnierschildkröte
Chinese: 三线闭壳龟 
SynonymSternothaerus trifasciatus BELL 1825
Cistudo trifasciata — HARDWICKE & GRAY 1835
Cistudo trifasciata — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1835: 219
Cistudo Trifasciata — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1854: 224
Cuora trifasciata GRAY 1856: 264
Cyclemys trifasciata BOULENGER 1889
Cyclemys trifasciata — SCHMIDT 1927
Cuora trifasciata — KING & BURKE 1989
Cuora trifasciata — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 149
Mauremys iversoni PRITCHARD & MCCORD 1991 (part.)
Clemmys guangxiensis QIN 1991 (part.)
Cuora trifasciata — XIANGKUI 1994
Sacalia pseudoocellata — OBST 2003: 18
Sacalia pseudoocellata — MCCORD & JOSEPH-OUNI 2004
“Sacalia pseudocellata” — STUART & PARHAM 2007
Cuora trifasciata — ZHOU et al. 2007
Cuora trifasciata trifasciata — TTWG 2017
Cuora trifasciata trifasciata — TTWG 2021

Cuora trifasciata luteocephala BLANCK, PROTIVA, ZHOU, LI, CROW & TIEDEMANN 2017
Ocadia philippeni MCCORD & IVERSON 1992 (part.)
Sacalia pseudocellata IVERSON & MCCORD 1992: 426 (part.)
Cuora trifasciata luteocephala — TTWG 2017
Cuora trifasciata luteocephala — TTWG 2021 
DistributionS China (Kwangsi, Kwangtung, Hainan Island, Hong Kong)

iversoni: China (Fujian, Guizhou, Guangxi)

luteocephala: China (Hainan); Type locality: “China, Hainan Province, Dan County, 300 m elevation.”

Ocadia philippeni: China (W Hainan); Type locality: “near Kancheng [18°51' N, 108°37' E; = 48 km from Tungfang (19°03' N, 108°56' E)], western Hainan Island, China.”

Sacalia pseudoocellata: China (Hainan); Type locality: “between Tungfang [19°03' N, 108°56' E] and Kancheng [18°51' N, 108°37' E; ca. 48 km from Tungfang], western Hainan Island, China.”  
Reproductionoviparous. 
TypesHolotype: OUM 08557
Holotype: MHNT CHE 1992-III [meremi]
Holotype: CIB 64III5279 (Chengdu Institute of Biology), nearly adult female; paratypes: AMNH, MCZ, MVZ, [luteocephala] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (2753 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentHybridization: Wink et al. (2001) and Parham et al. (2001) suggested that Mauremys iversoni is a hybrid between Cuora trifasciata and M. mutica. Ocadia philippeni has some characters of Cuora trifasciata and may be a hybrid (PARHAM et al. 2001) between Cuora trifasciata (or possibly Mauremys iversoni) and Ocadia sinensis. According to SPINKS et al. (2004) the interpretation of O.philippeni as a potential hybrid is somewhat clouded by its close relationship with Mauremys iversoni, which is itself a potential hybrid species. The O. philippeni analyzed by SPINKS et al. (2004) appears to be a hybrid because it falls on a very short branch with a non-congeneric species (M. iversoni ), and both of these species are nested well within the genus Cuora. However, the Mauremys iversoni/O. philippeni clade is reasonably well-differentiated from all other Cuora, a result that would not be expected if M. iversoni and O. philippeni are both recent hybrids between recognized taxa. STUART & PARHAM (2007) confirmed that Ocadia philippeni is a hybrid of Mauremys sinensis and Cuora trifasciata. STUART & PARHAM (2007) showed that Sacalia pseudocellata is a hybrid of Sacalia quadriocellata and Cuora trifasciata.

Picture in Draco 13 (4): 94 (2003).

Distribution: C. trifasciata (sensu strictu) is not in Vietnam or Laos (Torsten Blanck, pers. comm.); however, if cyclornata is included trifasciata does occur in Vietnam.

Conservation: This is one of the most endangered turtle species according to a 2003 assessment by the IUCN.

Synonymy: Little or no mitochondrial DNA variation was found among the morphologically distinct species Cuora aurocapitata, Cuora pani, and Cuora trifasciata (STUART & PARHAM 2004). Cuora cyclornata may be a hybrid and has been provisionally considered to be a synonym of Cuora trifasciata by SPINKS & SHAFFER et al. (2006) in an “note added in proof”, and more formally in SPINKS et al. (2009). Cuora cyclornata has been removed from the synonymy of C. trifasciata.

According to SCHILDE (2004) the type locality of this species is not known. C. trifasciata and C. pani are paraphyletic (SPINKS et al. 2007). 
EtymologyNamed after Hans-Peter Philippen, German herpetoculturist. 
References
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