News & Events

Species Spotlight: Yellow-margined Box Turtle

Let’s shine a light on the Yellow-margined Box Turtle!

Being a box turtle, this turtle has a hinge on its plastron, allowing it to close its shell completely as a defense mechanism. This turtle’s head color varies greatly per individual, from shades of light to bright yellow, to dark olive, to green, to grey, to slate blue, making it one of the many colorful turtles in the Cuora genus that reside at our Turtle Survival Center. In fact, males can have a peach color to their cheeks that actually brightens and changes color slightly during the breeding season. Its highly domed, chocolate-colored carapace, bright yellow stripes adorning the sides of its head, and color variations make this turtle a thing of beauty.

Captive management of endangered and critically endangered species like the Yellow-margined Box Turtle at the Turtle Survival Center ensure that they don’t become extinct.

This Turtle Month, we’re so excited to share species from our Center, and around the world, that thrive in the wild because of our important conservation initiatives.

• Pictured: Yellow-margined Box Turtle (Cuora flavomarginata)
• Countries of Origin: China, Japan (Ryukyu Islands), Taiwan
• Habitat: Tropical and subtropical moist evergreen forests and lowlands
• Wild Population: Decreasing; mainland Chinese populations are decreasing more rapidly than the populations on Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan
• IUCN Red List Status: Endangered
• Threats: Habitat destruction and collection for the pet, food, and medicinal trades

Header image by Rachael Harff.