Terrapin

The diamondback terrapin or simply terrapin is a species of terrapin native to the brackish coastal tidal marshes of the East Coast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico coast, as well as in Bermuda. It belongs to the monotypic genus Malaclemys.

The diamondback terrapin was once the key ingredient in terrapin soup, a celebrated dish in the 1800s and early 1900s. That demand nearly wiped out the species, and it's rarely eaten today.

The diamondback terrapin lives in brackish coastal salt marshes, tidal creeks, and estuaries along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. It's the only North American turtle that spends its whole life in these salt marsh habitats.