A McCord's box turtle with a dark reddish-brown shell and yellow head. — Photo: Cuora (English Wikipedia), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

McCord's Box Turtle

Cuora mccordi

An extremely rare Chinese box turtle first discovered in a food market and likely extinct in the wild.

🐢 Turtles and Tortoises

Checking teacher reviews…

Teacher? Sign in to review this page →Report a mistake

About the McCord's Box Turtle

McCord's box turtles have shells 5.3 to 6.5 inches long, dark brown above with yellow heads, legs, tails and bellies. A flexible bottom shell lets them close up like a box. They come from bamboo and leafy forests in Guangxi province in southern China. They prefer meat to plants, are active at night and hide by burrowing into soft ground.^[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name: Cuora mccordi^[1]
Size: Shell 5.3 to 6.5 inches long.^[1]
Diet: Prefers meat over plants.^[1]
Habitat: Bamboo and broad-leafed forests.^[1]
Where it lives: Guangxi province, southern China.^[1]
Group life: Nocturnal.^[1]
Conservation status: Critically Endangered (IUCN Red List, assessed 2000).^[2]

Fun facts

Scientists first found it in a market, not in the wild.^[1]
It wasn't seen in the wild until 19 years after it was described.^[1]
A turtle's shell keeps growing its whole life.^[1]

Vocabulary

plastron: The bottom part of a turtle's shell.
extinct in the wild: Surviving only in zoos or human care.
nocturnal: Active mainly at night.
carapace: The top part of a turtle's shell.
critically endangered: A conservation label meaning a species faces an extremely high risk of dying out in the wild.

See it in person

Smithsonian's National ZooWashington, D.C. · Reptile Discovery CenterSee this animal on the zoo's website ↗

These zoos had this animal when we gathered our information, but animals sometimes move. Check the zoo's website or contact the zoo before you visit.

Sources

[1] Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. “McCord's box turtle.” https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/mccords-box-turtle (accessed 2026-10-08)
[2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Cuora mccordi (McCord's Box Turtle).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/5961/97359510 (accessed 2026-10-08)

Facts last checked 2026-10-08.

More Turtles and Tortoises

African Spurred TortoiseCentrochelys sulcata (also called Geochelone sulcata)The largest mainland African tortoise, a burrowing plant-eater of the dry lands south of the Sahara, also called the sulcata tortoise.Aldabra TortoiseAldabrachelys giganteaOne of the world's largest tortoises, from the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, which can weigh 550 pounds and may live 150 years.Alligator Snapping TurtleMacrochelys temminckiiThe largest freshwater turtle in the United States, which lures fish into its open jaws with a worm-like bit on its tongue.Australian Big-headed TurtleEmydura australisA river turtle from northwestern Australia with a head too big to pull into its shell and strong jaws for crushing snails.Australian Snake-necked TurtleChelodina longicollisA southeastern Australian turtle whose neck can be more than half as long as its shell.Diamondback TerrapinMalaclemys terrapinA colorful turtle of coastal salt marshes from the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico, the only turtle besides sea turtles that lives in brackish water.Eastern Box TurtleTerrapene carolinaA land turtle of the eastern United States that can close its shell like a box and may live more than 100 years.Florida Red-Bellied TurtlePseudemys nelsoniA Florida freshwater turtle with a reddish belly that sometimes lays its eggs in alligator nests for protection.Fly River TurtleCarettochelys insculptaA pig-nosed freshwater turtle with flipper-like front legs and a leathery shell, the last of its turtle family.Hermann's TortoiseTestudo hermanniA small, domed European tortoise with a black-and-yellow patterned shell that sleeps through the cold months.Home's Hinge-back TortoiseKinixys homeanaA small West African forest tortoise with a sharply angled shell that eats mostly insects, unusual for a tortoise.Mata MataChelus fimbriataA camouflaged Amazon turtle with a flat head and snorkel nose that vacuums up fish by suddenly opening its mouth.Mojave Desert TortoiseGopherus agassiziiCalifornia's state reptile, a burrowing tortoise of the southwestern deserts that is now critically endangered.Painted River TerrapinBatagur borneoensisA critically endangered Southeast Asian river turtle whose males grow a bright red stripe on the head in breeding season.Pancake TortoiseMalacochersus tornieriA critically endangered East African tortoise with a thin, flat, flexible shell that hides in rock cracks instead of in its shell.Radiated TortoiseAstrochelys radiataA critically endangered Madagascar tortoise named for the yellow star-like lines on its high, domed shell.Red-Footed TortoiseChelonoidis carbonariaA South American tortoise with black skin and red patches like glowing coals that spreads seeds by eating fruit.Spider TortoisePyxis arachnoidesA tiny, critically endangered Madagascar tortoise named for the web-like yellow lines on its dark shell.Spotted Pond TurtleGeoclemys hamiltoniiA black turtle covered in white or yellow spots from the ponds and marshes of northern South Asia.Spotted TurtleClemmys guttataA small, endangered black turtle of eastern North America sprinkled with yellow spots that help it hide among duckweed.Western Pond TurtleActinemys marmorataCalifornia's only native freshwater turtle, a small olive-brown turtle that zoos help return to local ponds.Western Santa Cruz Galápagos TortoiseChelonoidis porteriA huge, dome-shelled Galápagos tortoise from Santa Cruz Island that migrates along "tortoise highways."Yellow-spotted Amazon River TurtlePodocnemis unifilisA side-necked South American river turtle with yellow head spots that can live up to 70 years.