📸 PhotoPhoto: Cuora at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Chinese Three-striped Box Turtle
Cuora trifasciata (Chinese Three-striped Box Turtle · ミスジハコガメ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 A maximum carapace length of about 30 cm is the same size as the long side of an A4 sheet (about 30 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 At the Smithsonian's National Zoo, it is fed mainly leafy greens supplemented with crickets and earthworms for protein (Smithsonian's National Zoo).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The Chinese Three-striped Box Turtle is a semi-aquatic turtle living in streams and streamside forests; once found across southern China, northern Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar, it is now known only from Hong Kong. Its IUCN status is Critically Endangered (CR) as of 2020.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Named for the three black longitudinal stripes on its brown carapace, it has a hinged plastron that folds shut to conceal the body inside the shell, and males have an indented plastron and a thick tail.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It is an omnivore that eats worms, frogs, crabs, fruits, plants, and carrion. Based on zoo observations, it is believed to spend a large amount of time on land as well.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List CR (2020) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/123768950/123769768
- • IUCN Red List category CR — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 6BRP4
- • iucnredlist.org — 123769768
- • wikidata.org — Q745210
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Cuora trifasciata.jpg
- • nationalzoo.si.edu — chinese-three-striped-box-turtle
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Idamara Fernandes Santa Cruz · CC0 1.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Rhinoclemmys punctularia)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.