Center for Coastal Resources Management

If you guessed northern diamond-backed terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin terrapin), you would be correct!

Interesting Facts

• This turtle can live up to 40 years.

• The diamondback terrapin is the only species of turtle in North America that spends its life in brackish water. If they are kept in fresh water for long periods, they can develop shell infections.

• Eats mainly molluscs and crushes them with a bony plate in their upper and lower jaw. They may also play an important role in the spread of eelgrass through their digestion of seeds.

• Prohibition may have helped save this turtle since sherry was a key ingredient in turtle soup, thus commercial demand ended by the 1930s.

• Current threats include nest predation by raccoons, habitat loss, and boat strikes. The greatest threat is drowning in crab pots.

References:

• Mapping Terrapin Habitat
• CCRM Marine Debris Program
• The Diamondback Terrapin: Virginia's Coastal Native
• The National Aquarium Baltimore
• BRDs Bycatch Reduction Devices - Terrapin Livesavers