Common box turtle

Common box turtle
1842 drawing
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Testudinoidea
Family:	Emydidae
Genus:	Terrapene
Species:	T. carolina
Binomial name
Terrapene carolina (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies
See text
Synonyms[3]
Testudo carolina Linnaeus, 1758 Testudo clausa Gmelin, 1789 Terrapene carolina Bell, 1825

The common box turtle (Terrapene carolina) is a species of box turtle with five existing subspecies. It is found throughout the Eastern United States and Mexico. The box turtle has a distinctive hinged lower shell that allows it to completely enclose itself, like a box. Its upper jaw is hooked. The turtle is primarily terrestrial and eats a wide variety of plants and animals. The females lay their eggs in the summer. Turtles in the northern part of their range hibernate over the winter.

Common box turtle numbers are declining because of habitat loss, roadkill, and capture for the pet trade. The species is classified as vulnerable to threats to its survival by the IUCN Red List. Three states have chosen subspecies of the common box turtle as their official state reptile: T. c. carolina in North Carolina and Tennessee and T. c. triunguis in Missouri.