Cuora zhoui, 127

Cuora zhoui Zhao in Zhao, Zhou, and Ye 1990 –
Zhou’s Box Turtle

Torsten Blanck¹, John B. Iverson², Ting Zhou^3,4,
Elmar Meier⁵, and William P. McCord⁶

¹Cuora Conservation Center of Turtle Island, 8530 Deutschlandsberg, Austria [[email protected]];
²Department of Biology, Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana 47374 USA [[email protected]];
³Hainan Academy of Forestry, Haikou 571100, Hainan, China [[email protected]];
⁴Nanjing Turtle Museum, Jiangsu, China;
⁵Köttling 5, 48301 Nottuln, Germany [[email protected]];
⁶East Fishkill Animal Hospital. Hopewell Junction, New York 12533 USA [[email protected]]

Summary. – Zhou’s Box Turtle, Cuora zhoui (family Geoemydidae), and its synonym, Cuora pallidicephala, were both described in the early 1990s from trade specimens purchased in southern Chinese food markets. The animals were claimed to have come from small areas of highland streams in southwestern Guangxi and southeastern Yunnan provinces in China, respectively. However, the species’ native range remains unknown, although suspected to have been a very small area of occupancy in the mountainous highland regions along the border between Guangxi and Yunnan, China, and northern Vietnam, from which it may already be extirpated. No specimens have ever been documented in the wild, and since it has been exploited for the pet trade and may also have been consumed locally, the species may well already be Extinct in the Wild. It is one of the most morphologically distinctive members of its genus and has been validated genetically, thereby disputing any speculation of hybrid origin. It is a medium-sized freshwater turtle (straight-line midline carapace length reaches 170 mm in males and 223 mm in females). Our knowledge of the natural history of this species is based entirely on captive studies. Mating occurs in spring and fall, but only a single clutch of 1–8 eggs (typically 2–4, 10–26 g each) is laid each year, usually in June or July; incubation takes 65–125 days. The species has temperature-dependent sex determination, with males produced only at colder temperatures.

Distribution. – Presumably China, Vietnam; however, actually Unknown, but suspected to occur along the border between China and Vietnam, and likely to be native to both countries.

Synonymy. – Cuora zhoui Zhao in Zhao, Zhou, and Ye 1990, Cuora pallidicephala McCord and Iverson 1991, Pyxiclemmys zhoui.

Subspecies. – None recognized.

Status. – IUCN Red List (2024): Critically Endangered (CR A1d+2d) (assessed 2000); TFTSG Provisional Red List: Critically Endangered (CR, assessed 2011); CITES Appendix II (since 2000); EUCR: Appendix B (since 2000); China Red Data Book: Data Deficient (assessed 1998); Class II of China’s Nationally Protected animals since 1988 (as all Cuora species considered native to China); China Species Red List (assessed 2004, 2016): Critically Endangered.