NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Chinese Striped-necked Turtle
Mauremys sinensis (Gray, 1834)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Chinese stripe-necked turtle (Mauremys sinensis) or golden thread turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae. They are widely distributed in the subtropical regions of Taiwan.
Like many other Geoemydidae, this species hybridizes vigorously with related and not-so-closely related members of its family.
It is one of the two most commonly found species used for divination - the other being the yellow pond turtle - that have been recovered from Shang dynasty sites, despite the Shang capital being over 1000 km north of its modern-day distribution range.
Wikipedia contributors, Chinese stripe-necked turtle; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:06:13.866138+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Mauremys sinensis (Gray, 1834)
- Name authority
- (Gray, 1834)
- Common name
- Chinese Striped-necked Turtle
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Testudines
- Family
- Geoemydidae
- Genus
- Mauremys
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderTestudines Batsch, 1788
- suborderCryptodira
- superfamilyTestudinoidea
- familyGeoemydidae
- genusMauremys
- speciesMauremys sinensis (Gray, 1834)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Mauremys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Annam Leaf TurtleMauremys annamensis (Siebenrock, 1903) | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Caspian TurtleMauremys caspica (Gmelin, 1774) | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Japanese Pond TurtleMauremys japonica (Temminck & Schlegel, 1835) | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Yellowpond TurtleMauremys mutica (Cantor, 1842) | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Big-headed Reeves’ turtle [megalocephala]Mauremys reevesii (Gray, 1831) | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Black-Necked Pond TurtleMauremys nigricans (Gray, 1834) | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Western Caspian TurtleMauremys rivulata (Valenciennes, 1833) | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Emys bennettii Gray, 1844 Gray, 1844 | synonym |
| Ocadia sinensis changwui Tao, 1988 Tao, 1988 | synonym |
| Ocadia glyphistoma Mccord & Iverson, 1994 Mccord & Iverson, 1994 | ambiguous synonym |
| Emys sinensis Gray, 1834 Gray, 1834 | synonym |
| Testudo anyangensis Ping, 1930 Ping, 1930 | synonym |
| Ocadia philippeni Mccord & Iverson, 1992 Mccord & Iverson, 1992 | ambiguous synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Mauremys&species=sinensis Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3YFWN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.