Cuora trifasciata
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__NOTOC__ The golden coin turtle or Chinese three-striped box turtle (''Cuora trifasciata'') is a
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to southern
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.


Distribution

The species is distributed in China, but only on the island of
Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
(it is
extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...
from the mainland
Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
,
Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...
, and
Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
provinces), as well as
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. The populations from other parts of Vietnam and
Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
are now regarded a separate species, the
Vietnamese three-striped box turtle The Vietnamese three-striped box turtle or green rice turtle (''Cuora cyclornata'') is a species of the Southeast Asian genus '' Cuora'' (family Geoemydidae). It is distributed from the extreme southern part of the Chinese Guangxi province southw ...
(''C. cyclornata'').


Description

This species has three distinct black stripes on its brown
carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...
, with a yellow, slightly hooked upper jaw and a yellow stripe extending from the back of the mouth. The plastron is mostly black with a yellow border.


Diet

In Hong Kong, this species feeds on
fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
,
frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...
s, and
carrion Carrion () is the decaying flesh of dead animals, including human flesh. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures, c ...
, but remains of
crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...
s,
snail A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastro ...
s, and
insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
s have been found in its
feces Feces ( or faeces), known colloquially and in slang as poo and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a relati ...
. It can grow up to 25 cm (10 in).


Taxonomy

It hybridizes very easily 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 The Fujian pond turtle (''"Mauremys" × iversoni'') is a possibly also naturally occurring intergeneric hybrid turtle in the family Geoemydidae (formerly Bataguridae) produced in larger numbers by Chinese turtle farms as a "copy" of the golden c ...
(''Mauremys'' × ''iversoni''), a hybrid between (usually) males of this species and females of the
Asian yellow pond turtle The yellow pond turtle (''Mauremys mutica''), is a medium-sized (to 19.5 cm), semiaquatic turtle in the family Geoemydidae. This species has a characteristic broad yellow stripe extending behind the eye and down the neck; the carapace ranges ...
(''Mauremys mutica''). In addition, the golden coin turtle is suspected to be a parent of the supposed species
Chinese false-eyed turtle The Chinese false-eyed turtle (''Cuora trifasciata × Sacalia quadriocellata'') is a hybrid species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae. It is a hybrid between a male golden coin turtle (''Cuora trifasciata'') and a female four-eyed turtle (''Sac ...
and Philippen's striped turtle.


Conservation

The species is considered critically endangered by the
IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
. It is used in
folk medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...
, e.g. as the key ingredient for the Chinese medicinal dessert '' guīlínggāo'' (龜苓膏); thus, it is under threat because of unsustainable hunting. It is one of the most endangered turtle species in the world, according to a 2003 assessment by the IUCN. ''C. trifasciata'' is listed among Turtle Conservation Coalition's 25 most endangered tortoises and freshwater turtles.


Farming

''C. trifasciata'' is raised on some of China's
turtle farm Turtle farming is the practice of raising turtles and tortoises of various species commercially. Raised animals are sold for use as gourmet food, traditional medicine ingredients, or as pets. Some farms also sell young animals to other farms, e ...
s. Based on the data from a large sample (almost one-half of all registered turtle farms in the country), researchers estimated that the turtle farmers participating in the survey had the total herd of 115,900 turtles of this species; they sold 20,600 turtles of this species per year, with the estimated value of almost US$37 million. This would make a farm-raised ''C. trifasciata'' worth almost $1,800, making them by far the most expensive species tabulated in the survey (by comparison, a common ''
Pelodiscus sinensis The Chinese softshell turtle (''Pelodiscus sinensis'') is a species of softshell turtle that is native to China (Inner Mongolia to Guangxi, including Hong Kong) and Taiwan, with records of escapees—some of which have established introduced po ...
'' raised for food would be worth under $7, and a '' Cuora mouhotii'', sold for the pet trade, around $80). Taking into account the registered farms that did not respond to the survey, as well as the unregistered producers, the total numbers must be significantly higher. Wild ''C. trifasciata'' turtles are far more valuable than farmed-raised turtles of this species to both
traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...
practitioners and illegal wildlife traders. The gender of ''C. trifasciata'' is determined by gestation temperatures. Due to incubation temperatures at farms in warm lowlands, farms have only been able to produce females. This increased the price of wild-caught males to $20,000. Most farmed ''C. trifasciata'' turtles are hybrids, which can escape and establish populations, causing
genetic pollution Genetic pollution is a controversial term for uncontrolled gene flow into wild populations. It is defined as "the dispersal of contaminated altered genes from genetically engineered organisms to natural organisms, esp. by cross-pollination", but ...
. The largest ''C. trifasciata'' farming operation is said to be located in
Boluo County Boluo County () is a county of east-central Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Huizhou, and in 2009, had a population of 813,700 residing in an area of . It borders Yuanc ...
, Guangdong. According to the farm's founder Li Yi (李艺), the farm was started in 1989 with eight wild turtles (two males and six females) bought at a local market, and now has "over 2000" turtles. According to the farm's site, captive-born turtles start breeding at 8 years of age.Liyi Gold-coin Turtle Breeding Farm: Breeding and reproduction
/ref>


References


Further reading

* 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 ''Salamandra'' is a genus of seven species of salamanders localized in central and southern Europe, Northern Africa, and western Asia. List of species References External links Salamandraat Fauna Europaea * Salamandraat Animal Diversity W ...
'' 41: 21–26
PDF fulltext
* da Nóbrega Alves, Rômulo Romeu; da Silva Vieira; Washington Luiz & Gomes Santana, Gindomar (2008): Reptiles used in traditional folk medicine: conservation implications. ''Biodiversity and Conservation'' 17(8): 2037–2049. (HTML abstract, PDF first page) * 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
PDF fulltext
Erratum: ''Animal Conservation'' 5(1): 8
HTML abstract


External links


Hong Kong Reptile & Amphibian SocietySpecies 2000
Retrieved 2007-05-04 {{Taxonbar, from=Q745210 Cuora Reptiles described in 1825 Reptiles of China Reptiles of Hong Kong Turtles of Asia