Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Golden coin turtle (Cuora trifasciata), recorded as Critically Endangered
Golden coin turtle (Cuora trifasciata). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Critically Endangered

Golden coin turtle

Cuora trifasciata

Golden coin turtle is a turtle in the family Geoemydidae — Cuora trifasciata, recorded as Critically Endangered.

Status
Critically Endangered
Scientific name
Cuora trifasciata
CITES
Appendix II
Taxonomy
Testudines · Geoemydidae · Cuora

Appearance

C. Trifasciata has three distinct black stripes on its brown carapace, with a yellow, slightly hooked upper jaw and a yellow stripe extending from the back of the mouth. The plastron is mostly black with a yellow border.

Range and habitat

C. Trifasciata is distributed in China, but only on the island of Hainan (it is extirpated from the mainland Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian provinces), as well as Hong Kong. The species is native to southern China.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

In crisis

The species C. Trifasciata is considered critically endangered by the IUCN. It is used in folk medicine, e.g. As the key ingredient for the Chinese medicinal dessert guīlínggāo (龜苓膏). Thus, it is under threat because of unsustainable hunting. It is one of the most endangered turtle species in the world, according to a 2003 assessment by the IUCN.

C. Trifasciata is listed among Turtle Conservation Coalition's 25 most endangered tortoises and freshwater turtles.

CITES lists this taxon on Appendix II. Confirm the current appendix on the CITES checklist.

Golden coin turtle is Critically Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Golden coin turtle, Wikidata item Q745210. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

Same genus

Photograph of Bourret's box turtle (Cuora bourreti), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Bourret's box turtle

Cuora bourreti
Photograph of Indochinese box turtle (Cuora galbinifrons), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Indochinese box turtle

Cuora galbinifrons
Photograph of McCord's box turtle (Cuora mccordi), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

McCord's box turtle

Cuora mccordi
Photograph of Pan's box turtle (Cuora pani), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Pan's box turtle

Cuora pani

Quick answers

What is Golden coin turtle?
Golden coin turtle is a turtle in the family Geoemydidae — Cuora trifasciata.
What is the conservation status of Golden coin turtle?
Critically Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Cuora trifasciata. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Golden coin turtle live?
C. Trifasciata is distributed in China, but only on the island of Hainan (it is extirpated from the mainland Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian provinces), as well as Hong Kong.
Why is Golden coin turtle in crisis?
The species C. Trifasciata is considered critically endangered by the IUCN.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Cuora trifasciata?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Golden coin turtle a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.