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The Amboina box turtle (Cuora amboinensis), or Southeast Asian box turtle is a species of Asian box turtle.

The type locality is "Amboine" (or "Amboina") Island, today Ambon Island in Indonesia.

Description
These turtles have blackish-brown to olive-brown shells that are not as ornate as many other box turtles. All have a blackish olive head with three yellow stripes on the side. They are relatively small turtles, ranging in length between 200-250mm depending on subspecies and sex. Females are slightly larger than males. The male can be identified by the slightly concave shape to its plastron. There is no specific pattern to what the underbellies may look like, for either sex. Life expectancy is 25-30 years. The only true way of telling age is to guess by the texture of the shell, as growth rings form irregularly.

Distribution and habitat
The Amboina box turtle is widely distributed across Southeast Asia. Its range extends on the Asian mainland from northeast India, through Bangladesh, Burma and Thailand, across Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. It is also found on the archipelagos of Indonesia and the Philippines. The Amboina prefers lowland freshwater habitats from sea level up to about 500 meters and can be found in both natural and human-modified landscapes. It prefers still or slow-moving waters with a soft bottom including ponds, creeks, marshes, rice paddies, irrigation canals and drainage ditches. They are semi-aquatic and tend to spend more time on land at night; the young are more aquatic than adults. Amboina turtles do not migrate but individuals may wander substantial distances during their lifetime.

Ecology and behavior
The Amboina is omnivorous but tends toward a more vegetarian diet. On land it eats plants, fruits, seeds, fungi and worms; in the water it consumes plants, insects and mollusks. The species has been observed to contribute to seed dispersal for fig trees and other tropical plants.

Mating takes place between November and April after a brief courtship ritual. Typically, the female will lay three small clutches of two eggs each year and incubation may take anywhere 70 to 100 days. Eggs are elongate, brittle and hard-shelled. The variability in clutch size, egg size and egg-laying season relate to geographic variability and climate.

Taxonomy
The species was originally described by François Marie Daudin in 1801 using a description recorded by Claude Riche. Riche based his description on a specimen collected on the island of Amboina (now Ambon Island, Indonesia.) The original type specimen was lost at sea and Riche died shortly after returning to France.

The taxonomy of Cuora amboinensis remains unsettled. Based on morphological and color differences four subspecies are currently accepted but other more recent studies raise the possibility of more or fewer subspecies. Authorities have called for comprehensive sampling and genetic studies to resolve the uncertainties.

The four recognized subspecies are:


 * Cuora amboinensis amboinensis (Riche in Daudin, 1801) (East Indian box turtle) – Indonesia (Moluccas, Sulawesi), Philippines (except Sulu and Palawan island groups)
 * Have a quite flat shell with a flared marginal scutes. The plastron have a bigger black spots coloration, and possesses a bigger head. Well adapted for an aquatic lifestyle. For individuals suspected to be of this subspecies: Ratio of carapace length / height: 3.08. Average ratio dimensions of plastron spots: 1.21 (almost circular)


 * Cuora amboinensis couro (Lechenault in Schweigger 1812) (Indonesian box turtle) – Indonesia (Java, Lesser Sundas, Sumatra, Timor)
 * Moderate domed carapace, some individual possesses a flared marginal scutes. The plastron shows black markings on every plastral scutes, Darker in Coloration, more oval black spots on plastron.


 * Cuora amboinensis kamaroma (Rummler and Fritz 1991) (Malayan box turtle) –  Mainland Indochina
 * High domed carapace and smaller, more elongated and less spotting of black pigments in the plastron. have smaller and shorter tail compared to other subspecies. do not have any flare in the marginal scutes. Average ratio of carapace length / height: 2.82. Average ratio dimensions of plastron spots: 2.14 (small and elongated)


 * Cuora amboinensis lineata (Burmese Box Turtle) (McCord and Philippen 1998) – Myanmar
 * Resembles to C. a. kamaroma, but in the carapace there is a bright colored mid-dorsal line, and sometimes a bright colored lateral line. The plastral are possesses large black spotting of black similar to the C. a. couro.

C. a. kamaroma has hybridized in captivity with the Vietnamese pond turtle – a species nearly extinct in the wild – and with males of the Chinese pond turtle (Chinemys reevesii). Other hybrids are known, like C. amboinensis × Cuora trifasciata.

Conservation
Once common across much of its range, the Southeast Asia box turtle has undergone a rapid population decline in many areas. In 2000 it was classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN and is considered endangered in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. The primary threat is capture for local consumption, export to China for food and traditional medicine, and export for the pet trade in the United States and Europe. Although it is adaptable to human-modified landscapes, habitat destruction is still considered a threat in some areas.