Diamondback Terrapins are unique-looking turtles. With bodies and shells of contrasting colors, these turtles are eye-catching.
Diamondback Terrapins are the only turtles that live in the ocean other than the much larger Sea Turtles.
Diamondback terrapins are one of the most physically variable turtles, having different shell patterns, skin colors, markings and shapes, even among specimens within the same subspecies.
The diamondback terrapin is believed to be the only turtle in the world that lives exclusively in brackish water (containing some salt, but not as much as ocean water), habitats like tidal marshes, estuaries and lagoons.
The Diamondback Terrapin was first reported by Schoepff, 1793. In general members of this order are found all over the world, except for Antarctica. Turtles can range in size from just a few cms, to two metres.
The Diamondback terrapin is the only species of turtle in North America that spends its life in brackish water (salty but less so than sea water).
Feeding/Diet: Diamondback terrapins are mostly carnivorous. They have been known to eat both snails and crabs. Vegetation that has been found in their stomachs may have been ingested accidentally.
Texas Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin littoralis)
Description Shell length of the Texas diamondback terrapin ranges from 4-5.5 inches (10 to 14 cm) in males to 6-9 inches (15 to 22 cm) in females.
The Ornate Diamondback Terrapin, Malaclemys terrapin macrospilota, is found on the west coast from Florida Bay to Walton County in the panhandle.
The diamondback terrapin's shell is covered with scales or plates called scutes that bear deep, diamond-shaped growth rings. The top shell is light brown, gray, or black; the bottom shell ranges from yellow to olive.
Habits: Diamondback terrapins reach sexual maturity at about 3.5 years in males and 6 years in females. They breed during the months of March and April and nest during May and June.
Diamondback Terrapin - Malaclemys terrapin
Description: Females: 6 - 9" (15.2 - 23 cm); Males: 4 - 5 ½" (10 - 13.9 cm). Body and shell is gray. Carapace has distinctive circular rings. Head is spotted with black flecks.
The Diamondback Terrapin has a prominent diamond pattern on the shell. The shell color varies from brown to gray. Skin color can be gray, brown, yellow or white, with a pattern of fine black markings or spots on the body and head. Read more ...
Mississippi Diamondback Terrapin Malaclemys terrapin pileata. Rare and possibly endangered in coastal marshes of Mobile and Baldwin Counties.
They include such well-known North American turtles as the pond turtles (including the spotted, wood, and Muhlenberg's turtles), the painted turtle, the sliders, the diamondback terrapin, and the Blanding's turtle.
You can also offer Clemmys (as well as the Diamondback Terrapins) an aquatic turtle mix of four or five commercially available turtle pellets.
Miscellaneous: In northern parts of their range, painted turtle hatchlings are known to literally freeze in their nests during the winter and thaw out in the spring. Along with diamondback terrapins, ...
The Dry Tortugas islands near Florida are so named because explorer Ponce de Leon visited them in 1513 and found no fresh water but an abundance of sea turtles, or tortugas in Spanish. The University of Maryland's mascot is a diamondback terrapin ...
Tortoise applies only to the land turtles and terrapin to any of the various edible turtles living in fresh or brackish water, particularly those of the genus Malaclemys, the diamondback terrapins.
The name terrapin is typically reserved only for the brackish water diamondback terrapin, Malaclemys terrapin; the word terrapin being derived from the Algonquian word for this animal.[15] ...
 See also: Terrapin, Turtle, Shell, Reptile, Slider
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