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Diamondback Terrapin Turtle

Diamondback Terrapin Turtle

 

The diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) or simply terrapin, is a species of turtle native to the brackish coastal swamps of the eastern and southern United States. It belongs to the monotypic genus, Malaclemys.

 

The name "terrapin" is derived from the Algonquian word torope. It is unambiguously applied to Malaclemys terrapin in both British English and American English. The name originally was used by early European settlers in North America to describe these brackish-water turtles that inhabited neither freshwater habitats nor the sea. It retains this exclusive use in American English. In British English, however, other semi-aquatic turtle species, such as the red-eared slider, might be called a terrapin.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamondback_terrapin

 

fyi I did pick it up and moved it off the road

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Uploaded on December 12, 2010
Taken on June 1, 2010