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Box turtles are turtles of the genus ''Terrapene'' native to North America (United States and Mexico). They are also known as box tortoises,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=tortoise Box tortoise )〕 although box turtles are terrestrial members of the American pond turtle family (Emydidae), and not members of the tortoise family (Testudinidae). The twelve taxa which are distinguished in the genus are distributed over four species. They are largely characterized by having a domed shell, which is hinged at the bottom, allowing the animal to close its shell tightly to escape predators. Box turtles have become popular pets, although their needs in captivity are complex. The females usually have yellowish, brown eyes and the males usually have red or orange eyes, but the most reliable manner to distinguish males from females is to examine the plastron; on males there is a concave area centered beneath the hinge. ==Taxonomy and genetics== The genus name ''Terrapene'' was coined by Merrem in 1820 as a genus separate from ''Emys'' for those species which had a sternum which was separated into two or three divisions and which could move these parts independently. He placed in this genus amongst others ''Terrapene boscii'' (now accepted to be ''Kinosternon subrubrum subrubrum'') and ''Terrapene carolina'' (but under the name ''Terrapene clausa''). Also several Asian box turtles have been formerly classified within the genus ''Terrapene'': e.g. ''Terrapene bicolor'' (now ''Cuora amboinensis couro'') and ''Terrapene culturalia'' (now ''Cuora flavomarginata'').〔 Currently four species are classified within the genus and twelve taxa are distinguished:〔 *Common box turtle, ''Terrapene carolina'' (Linnaeus, 1758) (type species)〔 * *Florida box turtle, ''Terrapene carolina bauri'' Taylor, 1895 * *Eastern box turtle, ''Terrapene carolina carolina'' (Linnaeus, 1758) * *Gulf Coast box turtle, ''Terrapene carolina major'' (Agassiz, 1857) * *Mexican box turtle, ''Terrapene carolina mexicana'' (Gray, 1849) * *''Terrapene carolina putnami'' O.P. Hay, 1906 (extinct) 〔 * *Three-toed box turtle, ''Terrapene carolina triunguis'' (Agassiz, 1857) * *Yucatán box turtle, ''Terrapene carolina yucatana'' (Boulenger, 1895) *Coahuilan box turtle, ''Terrapene coahuila'' Schmidt & Owens, 1944 *Spotted box turtle, ''Terrapene nelsoni'' Stejneger, 1925 * *Northern spotted box turtle, ''Terrapene nelsoni klauberi'' Bogert, 1943 * *Southern spotted box turtle, ''Terrapene nelsoni nelsoni'' Stejneger, 1925 *Ornate box turtle (or: Western box turtle), ''Terrapene ornata'', (Agassiz, 1857) * *Ornate box turtle (or: Western box turtle), ''Terrapene ornata ornata'' (Agassiz, 1857) * *Desert box turtle, ''Terrapene ornata luteola'' H.M. Smith & Ramsey, 1952 Box turtles have diploid somatic cells with 50 chromosomes.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「box turtle」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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