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Differentiating Male and Female Cuora galbinifrons (Flowerback box turtle) - Chris Tabaka DVM and Sharon E. Chancellor, MT
Related articles:
Flowerback Box Turtle - Care (Cuora galbinifrons) – Sharon Chancellor
Cuora galbinifrons: A humbling experience - Sharon Chancellor
Cuora galbinifrons Update - Sharon Chancellor
Differentiating Cuora galbinifrons subspecies
Cuora galbinifrons bourreti - Visual Determination of Subspecies - Chris Tabaka DVM
Cuora galbinifrons galbinifrons - Visual Determination of Subspecies - Chris Tabaka DVM
Cuora galbinifrons picturata - Visual Determination of Subspecies - Chris Tabaka DVM
Quiz: Name that Cuora galbinifrons Subspecies - Chris Tabaka DVM and Sharon Chancellor
Cuora photograph Gallery
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This rare, colorful species used to be found in large numbers in pet stores throughout the United States. With it's "new" CITES II status as well as inreasing rarity, it is typically found only in the hands of serious Asian box turtle enthusiasts now.
Due to the large numbers of subadult animals as well as minimal sexually dimorphic differences between the two sexes, this is one of the more difficult species to sex (as well as adapt to captive conditions)..
The only reliable indicator that the authors have found in sexing this species is via the tail. In adult animals such as those pictured below, the differences in the tail size (once you have convinced the animal NOT to seal itself up into a box while you try to look at it!) is notable. The male can be seen on the left while the female is on the right.
Ventral Perspective
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| Male Cuora galbinifrons | Female Cuora galbinifrons |
Dorsal Perspective
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Male Cuora galbinifrons |
Female Cuora galbinifrons |
Another feature that can be utilized in large adult "bull" males is the presence of an enlarged throat sac area which the animal puffs in and out when interested around females.
The sexing of subadults can be difficult. The method preferred by the authors is to hold the animal in an upright position and grasping the tip of the tail, pull it straight out and gently down against the plastron. If the cloacal opening is past the edge of the plastron, the animal is a male. If the cloaca opens at or before the edge of the plastron, it is a female. With multiple animals, this technique is fairly reliable. With only one or two animals, this technique can be difficult at best without prior experience. A good pictorial representation of this can be seen in the article on sexing the closely related species Cistoclemmys flavomarginata Differentiating Male and Female Cistoclemmys (Cuora) flavomarginata (Chinese box turtle).
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