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Box turtle is the common name for several species of turtle. It may refer to those of the genus Cuora or Pyxidea , which are the Asian box turtles, or more commonly to species of the genus Terrapene , the North American box turtles.
Because box turtles occupy a wide variety of habitats (which both vary on a day-to-day, season-to-season, but also species-to-species basis), a standard box turtle habitat cannot be identified. Mesic woodlands are a habitat where box turtles are generally found.
The common box turtle (Terrapene carolina) is a species of box turtle with five existing subspecies. It is found throughout the Eastern United States and Mexico . The box turtle has a distinctive hinged lower shell that allows it to completely enclose itself, like a box.
The eastern box turtle is a subspecies of the common box turtle (Terrapene carolina). While in the pond turtle family, Emydidae , and not a tortoise , the box turtle is largely terrestrial. [ 4 ] Box turtles are slow crawlers, extremely long-lived, and slow to mature and have relatively few offspring per year.
Box turtles in North America are increasingly becoming a conservation concern because of habitat loss and because they are being harvested for the pet trade. [2] The destruction of prairies due to land renovations has led to the decline of the desert box turtles ( Terrapene ornata luteola ) across much of their geographical range.
The ornate box turtle is a relatively small turtle, measuring just 4-6″ (10-15 cm) when full-grown. Males and females generally look alike but males are often smaller; there is color variation with yellow lines from the center of the shell to the edges through gray, red-brown, or black coloration. [7]
The three-toed box turtle (Terrapene triunguis) is a species within the genus of hinge-shelled turtles commonly referred to as box turtles. This species is native to the south-central part of the United States and is the official reptile of the state of Missouri. [4] It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the eastern box turtle as T ...
C. mouhotii is sometimes treated as the sole species of the monotypic genus Pyxidea. [4] [7] [8] Phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial DNA has provided evidence that the species is part of the "Cuora group", a monophyletic group of Asian box turtles, and the name Pyxidea should probably be synonymized with Cuora, making the keeled box turtle part of that genus. [9]