Zhou's box turtle

Zhou's box turtle
Conservation status
	; Critically Endangered (IUCN 2.3)
	CITES Appendix II (CITES)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Geoemydidae
Genus:	Cuora
Species:	C. zhoui
Binomial name
	Cuora zhoui; Zhao, 1990
Synonyms
	Cuora zhoui; Zhao in Zhao, T. Zhou & Ye, 1990; Cuora pallidicephala; McCord & Iverson, 1991; Pyxiclemmys zhoui; — Vetter in Vetter & van Dijk, 2006;

Last updated October 06, 2025

Zhou's box turtle (Cuora zhoui) is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae (formerly Bataguridae). The species is apparently endemic to China.

Etymology

The specific name, zhoui, is in honor of Chinese herpetologist Zhou Jiufa.^[3]

Geographic range

C. zhoui is only known from Chinese food market specimens, and from a relatively small number of individuals that are part of captive breeding programs in Germany (notably the Münster Zoo), Austria, and the United States.^[4] In December 2018, the known captive population numbered about 140 individuals, including 80 hatched at the Münster Zoo.^[5] It may be found in the forests of southeastern Yunnan or western Guangxi, although it has never been recorded in the wild.^[4]

Conservation Status

The over-collection of turtles in Asia for food, medicinal purposes, and the pet trade industry are the primary causes of the decimation of this turtle's population. As of 2012, this species is considered to be critically endangered and in the middle of a conservation crisis.

References

↑ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
↑ Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 219–220. doi: 10.3897/vz.57.e30895 .
↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Cuora zhoui, p. 293).
1 2 "Searching for the elusive Zhou's box turtle | IUCN". Archived from the original on 2017-09-11. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
↑ Zooborns (26 December 2018). Allwetterzoo Provides Haven for Endangered Turtles

External links

Asian Turtle Trade Working Group (2016) [errata version of 2000 assessment]. "Cuora zhoui". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2000 e.T5963A97360787. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2000.RLTS.T5963A11972677.en . Retrieved 9 January 2018. Listed as Critically Endangered (CR A1d+2d)
Species Cuora zhoui at The Reptile Database

Lee DS, Levine LM (2004). First captive breeding of Zhou's Box Turtle, Cuora zhoui, in North America.
Spinks, P. Q., Thomson, R. C., Zhang, Y., Che, J., Wu, Y., & Shaffer, H. B. (2012). Species boundaries and phylogenetic relationships in the critically endangered Asian box turtle genus Cuora. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 63(3), 656–667.
Struijk RPJH, Woldring LA. Cuora Studbooks, an overview.
CITES Proposal 11.36 – status and biological information on Cuora species.

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[CITES-1] "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.

[Fritz2007-2] Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 219–220. doi: 10.3897/vz.57.e30895 .

[3] Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Cuora zhoui, p. 293).

[IUCNsearching-4] 1 2 "Searching for the elusive Zhou's box turtle | IUCN". Archived from the original on 2017-09-11. Retrieved 2017-09-11.

[5] Zooborns (26 December 2018). Allwetterzoo Provides Haven for Endangered Turtles

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