NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Central Vietnamese Three-striped Box Turtle [annamitica]
Cuora cyclornata Blanck, Mccord & Le Minh, 2006
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 Vietnamese three-striped box turtle or green rice turtle (Cuora cyclornata) is a species of the Southeast Asian genus Cuora (family Geoemydidae). It is distributed from the extreme southern part of the Chinese Guangxi province southwards to central Vietnam and central Laos. This species reaches up to 30 cm straight carapace length and is thus the largest Cuora species. Due to demand of traditional Chinese medicine, this species is nearly extinct in the wild, but is readily bred on Chinese turtle farms. Extremely high prices are paid for this species in China.
It can be distinguished from Cuora trifasciata by its larger size and generally more oval or rounder shell, which is usually also flatter, a white, pink, or orange chin, and head coloration with an orange-brownish-olive dorsal head pattern and less black pigment.
Wikipedia contributors, Vietnamese three-striped box turtle; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:23:32.982022+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cuora cyclornata Blanck, Mccord & Le Minh, 2006
- Name authority
- Blanck, Mccord & Le Minh, 2006
- Common name
- Central Vietnamese Three-striped Box Turtle [annamitica]
- 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 cyclornata Blanck, Mccord & Le Minh, 2006
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 |
| Southern Vietnam Box TurtleCuora picturata Lehr, Fritz & Obst, 1998 | 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 |
| 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=cyclornata 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:88H3M. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.