NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Southern Vietnam Box Turtle
Cuora picturata Lehr, Fritz & Obst, 1998
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.
Indo-Chinese box turtle Cuora galbinifrons at Bristol Zoo, England. Photographed by Adrian Pingstone in December 2005 and released to the public domain. :Southern Vietnamese Box Turtle Cuora (galbinifrons) picturata according to here.
Adrian Pingstone · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The southern Vietnamese box turtle (Cuora picturata) is endemic to the southern mountainous regions of Vietnam, and possibly also occurring in extreme eastern Cambodia and southern Laos. It is known only from Khanh Hoa and southern Phu Yen provinces, but may also occur in eastern Dak Lak and northern Ninh Thuan provinces.
This species was initially described as a subspecies of Cuora galbinifrons, but was shown to be genetically distinct. This is the same for Cuora galbinifrons bourreti, which is much closely related to Cuora galbinifrons, though, in osteology, genetics and morphology than is Cuora picturata to either one. Thus, this variety probably truly deserves species status.
This species has the highest-domed carapace of all Cuora species, the shape resembling a conquistador helmet. While the head coloration of Cuora galbinifrons subspecies is highly variable even in different populations, this is not the case with C. picturata, whose head is always yellow with a fine, greyish reticulation. They are commonly found in tropical, moist, and broadleaf evergreen forests.
Wikipedia contributors, Southern Vietnamese box turtle; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:46:20.150475+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cuora picturata Lehr, Fritz & Obst, 1998
- Name authority
- Lehr, Fritz & Obst, 1998
- Common name
- Southern Vietnam Box Turtle
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Testudines
- Family
- Geoemydidae
- Genus
- Cuora
- 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
- genusCuora
- speciesCuora picturata Lehr, Fritz & Obst, 1998
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Cuora. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Pan's Box TurtleCuora pani Song, 1984 | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chinese Three-striped Box TurtleCuora trifasciata (Bell, 1825) | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Eastern Yellow-headed Box Turtle [aurocapitata]Cuora aurocapitata Luo & Zong, 1988 | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Keeled Box TurtleCuora mouhotii (Gray, 1862) | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Indochinese Box TurtleCuora galbinifrons Bourret, 1939 | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| McCord's Box TurtleCuora mccordi Ernst, 1988 | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Central Vietnamese Three-striped Box Turtle [annamitica]Cuora cyclornata Blanck, Mccord & Le Minh, 2006 | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Indonesian Box TurtleCuora couro (Schweigger, 1812) | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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=Cuora&species=picturata 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.
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:6C3P2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.