Southeast asian box turtle
The Amboina box turtle (Cuora amboinensis) is a species of Asian box turtle. These endangered turtles are the most heavily trafficked turtles in the world and different conservation organizations are taking action to prevent or slow down the extinction of these species.
Amboina box 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. Females are slightly larger than males. The male can be identified by the slightly concave shape of its plastron. There is no specific pattern to what the underbellies may look like, for either sex.
Amboina box turtles are found across Southeast Asia. They occur on the Asian mainland from northeast India, through Bangladesh, Burma, and Thailand, across Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. They are also found on the archipelagos of Indonesia and the Philippines. These turtles prefer lowland freshwater habitats and can be found in both natural and human-modified landscapes. They prefer still or slow-moving waters with a soft bottom including ponds, creeks, marshes, rice paddies, irrigation canals, and drainage ditches.
Amboina box turtles are solitary creatures that remain active throughout the year. They live both on land and in water and usually spend more time on land at night; the young are more aquatic than adults. Amboina box turtles do not migrate but may wander considerable distances during their lifetime.
Amboina box turtles are omnivores. On land they eat plants, fruits, seeds, fungi, and worms; in the water, they consume plants, insects, and mollusks.
Amboina box turtles breed between November and April after a brief courtship ritual. Females usually lay 3 small clutches of 2 eggs each year and incubation takes anywhere 70 to 100 days. Eggs are elongated, brittle, and hard-shelled. The young are well-developed when they hatch and don't require parental care. They become reproductively mature and start to breed at 4-5 years of age.
Amboina box turtles are threatened by heavy collected for local consumption, export to China for food and traditional medicine, and export for the pet trade in the United States and Europe. Although these turtles are adaptable to human-modified landscapes, they still suffer from habitat destruction in some areas.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Amboina box turtle total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, and its numbers today are decreasing.
Amboina box turtles play an important role in their local ecosystem as they help distribute the seeds of fig trees and other tropical plants.