Literaturdatenbank
Literaturdatenbank |
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Blanck, T. , Tracking a shy beauty and the cave turtle: Finding the southern vietnamese flowerback box turtle (cuora picturata) and the central vietnamese keeled box turtle (cuora mouhotii obsti) in their habitat - abstract. Unpublished paper presented at Program and Abstracts of the Tenth Annual Symposium on the Conservation and Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles.
Added by: Sarina Wunderlich (06 Jul 2014 16:10:32 UTC) |
| Resource type: Conference Paper BibTeX citation key: anon2013.15880 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Geoemydidae, Habitat - habitat, Mauremys rivulata, Schildkröten - turtles + tortoises, Südostasien - South East Asia Creators: Blanck Collection: Program and Abstracts of the Tenth Annual Symposium on the Conservation and Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles |
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| Abstract |
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Cuora picturata and Cuora mouhotii obsti were both described in 1998 by German researchers based upon specimens derived from the pet trade. While both are quite common in the food and pet trade in eastern Asia for more than two decades, it took scientists until 2010 to find Cuora picturata in the wild. For C.m.obsti, two old museum specimens collected in 1966 from the wild in central Vietnam exist, but apart from this record, this subspecies of the Keeled Box Turtle was not seen by scientists in the wild again since then and its distribution area remained mysterious. This changed in 2011 when a team of the Asian Turtle Program surveyed for C. picturata in southern Vietnams Khanh Hoa Province was also able to find C.m.obsti in the wild, a significant range extension to the south. In May 2012 the author, together with a team of the Asian Turtle Program, surveyed for both species in Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa provinces to gain further understanding of the current status of both species in the wild and learn more about their habitat and live history. Both species were readily found in villages along the Deo Ca mountain range which forms the boundary between the two provinces. With the help of trained dogs the team was able to find both species in the wild. Both species occur sympatrically in evergreen tropical rainforests at 400–600m elevation but prefer different microhabitats. While C. picturata is an open forest dweller, C.m.obsti inhabits rocky areas providing plenty of stone piles, hiding in caves most of the time. While both species used to be abundant 20 years ago, when it was easy to collect dozens a day, their numbers have decreased significantly according to the local hunters interviewed. Still, one single hunter collects about 50 specimens each hunting (rainy) season, which lasts from July to November. Due to deforestation and overharvesting, the already very restricted range has decreased significantly. Despite the fact that the Deo Ca range is partially protected (at least the trees are), the remaining forest is under heavy pressure by the local villagers. Illegal logging of valuable tropical trees and hunting of any remaining wildlife with weapons, dogs, and huge numbers of traps are severe and evident in the entire area. To save both species in the wild urgent action is required by the authorities to effectively protect the remaining habitat and the species living in it.
Added by: Sarina Wunderlich |