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Amphibians and reptiles

Golden coin turtle

Amazing fact

The golden coin turtle can close its shell by moving its hinged underside.

The University of Hong Kong
Golden coin turtle in its habitat (illustration)

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An illustration based on the real animal.

A little discovery to share.

The golden coin turtle can close its shell by moving its hinged underside.

SourceThe University of Hong Kong — Cuora trifasciata (Bell, 1825) — Three-banded Box Terrapin 三線閉殼龜

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THE REAL WORLD

The real Golden coin turtle

Scientific name
Cuora trifasciata
Japanese name
ミスジハコガメ
Group
Amphibians and reptiles
Class
Reptilia
Order
Testudines
Family
Geoemydidae
Genus
Cuora
Facts about the real animal.

Where the name “Golden coin turtle” comes from

An English name for this turtle comes from the black stripes running along its shell.

Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
01

A turtle that lives from southern China to Laos, northern Vietnam and Cambodia.

鳥羽水族館 — ミスジハコガメ
02

It is active both in the water and on land.

鳥羽水族館 — ミスジハコガメ

How the Golden coin turtle lives

It is usually active at night and hides in caves during the day. It mainly eats fish, frogs and animal carcasses. It can leave streams and hide under damp leaf litter in shaded forest. It hibernates in winter.

The University of Hong Kong

Basic data

Range
Southern China, Laos, northern Vietnam, and Cambodia
鳥羽水族館

Where the Golden coin turtle has been recorded

World map with dots where the Golden coin turtle has been recorded
Each dot marks a place with observations or specimens shared on GBIF. Some records are of animals that strayed or were brought by people, so the dots are not always where the animal lives.

Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF

Where it livesAsiaRivers and wetlands

Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.

Names around the world

简体中文
三线闭壳龟
繁體中文
三線閉殼龜
Português (Brasil)
Cágado-cabeça-dourada

Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.

Sources and how we check

We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.

The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.

The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.

This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.

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