Cuora mouhotii (Gray, 1862)

Nguyen, Tan Van, Brakels, Peter, Maury, Nathanael, Sudavanh, Somchit, Pawangkhanant, Parinya, Idiiatullina, Sabira, Lorphengsy, Sengvilay, Inkhavilay, Khamla, Suwannapoom, Chatmongkon & Poyarkov, Nikolay A., 2020, New herpetofaunal observations from Laos based on photo records, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 248) 14 (2), pp. 218-249 : 242-243

Cuora mouhotii (Gray, 1 862)

Keeled Box Turtle ( Fig. 12B)

One adult individual of C. mouhotii was observed by P. Sysouphanthong on 28 June 2016 near Keo Village , Xayabury District, Xaignabouli Province (elevation 1,000 m asl) .

Morphological characters of the individual from Xaignabouli Province agreed well with the descriptions of Hendrie et al. (2011) and Das et al. (2016). The photographed individual ( Fig. 12B) agrees with the diagnosis of C. mouhotii in the following characters: head small and smooth; carapace high, rather narrow, with a clear midline dorsal keel running the length of the vertebral scutes; carapace considerably flattened laterally into the costal scutes on both sides where secondary keels present; posterior marginals markedly serrated and scalloped anteriorly; plastron relatively large, with a well-formed hinge between the hyo- and hypoplastra and with a distinct anal notch; tail rather long; carapace uniformly dark brown; head light brown; plastron and bridge dark brown with light brown markings around the outer edge; eye red.

Ecological notes. The individual was found at 1730 h on the forest floor in old growth primary dry mixed evergreen forest.

Distribution. In Laos, this species has been previously recorded from Vientiane, Bolikhamxai, Khammouan, and Champasak provinces ( Rhodin et al. 2017). This is the first record from Xaignabouli Province. Elsewhere, this species has been reported from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, and Vietnam ( Rhodin et al. 2017).