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Amboina box turtle

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 type locality is "Amboine" (or "Amboina") Island, today Ambon Island in Indonesia.

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. They are relatively small turtles, ranging in length between 200-250mm depending on subspecies and sex. Females are slightly larger than males. The male can be identified by the slightly concave shape to its plastron. There is no specific pattern to what the underbellies may look like, for either sex. Life expectancy is 25-30 years. The only true way of telling age is to guess by the texture of the shell, as growth rings form irregularly.

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.

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.

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.

Taxonomy

There are four subspecies that are primarily differentiated by differences in the color and shape of the carapace:

Cuora amboinensis amboinensis (Wallacean box turtle) – eastern Indonesian islands: Ambon Island, Sulawesi, the Moluccas, Buru, 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) – 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) Rummler & Fritz, 1991 Mainland Indochina (South and Central Vietnam, southern Laos and Cambodia), Thailand (Phang Nga Province, etc.), Singapore and mainland Malaysia and Borneo.

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)

Cuora amboinensis lineata (Burmese box turtle) McCord & Philippen, 1998 – Myanmar.

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.

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 hybridized in captivity with the Vietnamese pond turtle – a species nearly extinct in the wild – and with males of the Chinese pond turtle (Chinemys reevesii). Other hybrids are known, like C. amboinensis × Cuora trifasciata.

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 Endangered by the IUCN. The primary threat is capture for local consumption, export to China for food and traditional medicine, and export for the pet trade in the United States and Europe. Although it is adaptable to human-modified landscapes, habitat destruction is still considered a threat in some areas.

Notes

References

Asian Turtle Trade Working Group (ATTWG) (2000). "Cuora amboinensis". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2000.RLTS.T5958A11953035.en. 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. Bibcode:2008BiCon..17.2037D. doi:10.1007/s10531-007-9305-0. ISSN 0960-3115. S2CID 42500066.
Fritz, Uwe; Havas, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World" (PDF). Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 214–215. doi:10.3897/vz.57.e30895. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 May 2009.
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.