Terrapin

Terrapins, also called water tortoises, are a group of reptiles that live in fresh or brackish water. They belong to the order Testudines. They have clawed feet like tortoises, not flippers like marine turtles. In American English, people often call them marsh, pond, or tide-water turtles. Some species are known as pond sliders.

Many terrapins mainly eat animals. This makes them carnivorous. They eat things like amphibians, arthropods, freshwater fish, and molluscs. But some terrapins also eat plants.

Terrapins are part of the taxonomic family Emydidae. They may not all be closely related. Some terrapins belong to other families too, like Geoemydidae, Pelomedusidae, Podocnemididae, and Chelydridae. Even though they live in water, terrapins often come to land. They like to warm up by basking in the sun.

Etymology

Diamondback terrapin

The word "terrapin" comes from an old word in the Algonquian languages: torope. It described a special kind of turtle called the diamondback terrapin. When Europeans explored North America, they brought this name back to their countries. Today, people use "terrapin" to talk about certain freshwater turtles in English.

Because of this turtle, part of the War of 1812 was called "the Terrapin War." This was because, during the war, the United States felt trapped and safe, just like a terrapin hiding in its shell.

Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species checks how safe animals are. Many terrapin species are in danger, from vulnerable to critically endangered.

Terrapins are types of water turtles that live in fresh or brackish water. They have claws on their feet, unlike sea turtles, which have flippers. This list shows some terrapin species, but it changes as scientists discover more.

Family	Genus	Species (subspecies)	common name	Native natural habitat range	IUCN Red List status	Current population trend
Chelydridae	Chelydra	acutirostris	South American snapping turtle	South America
Chelydridae	Chelydra	rossignonii	Central American snapping turtle Mexican snapping turtle Yucatán snapping turtle	Central America	VU^IUCN
Chelydridae	Chelydra	serpentina	common snapping turtle	southeastern Canada United States eastern US southeastern US	LC^IUCN
Chelydridae	Macrochelys	temminckii	alligator snapping turtle	United States Florida Panhandle western Illinois southern Indiana southeastern Iowa southeast Kansas western Kentucky Louisiana west Michigan Missouri western Tennessee east Texas	EN^IUCN
Emydidae	Actinemys	marmorata	western pond turtle	western United States Mexico	VU^IUCN
Emydidae	Clemmys	guttata	spotted turtle	southern Canada Ontario eastern United States the eastern Great Lakes east of the Appalachian Mountains	EN^IUCN
Emydidae	Emydoidea	blandingii	Blanding's turtle	North American Great Lakes parts of the US Great Plains New England coastal lands	EN^IUCN	decreasing
Emydidae	Emys	orbicularis	European pond terrapin	central Europe parts of northern Africa western Asia	NT^IUCN
Emydidae	Glyptemys	muhlenbergii	bog turtle	eastern United States	CR^IUCN
Emydidae	Glyptemys	insculpta	wood turtle	northeastern United States	EN^IUCN
Emydidae	Malaclemys	terrapin	diamondback terrapin	North America Bermuda	VU^IUCN
Emydidae	Trachemys	scripta (elegans)	red-eared slider red-eared terrapin	southern United States northern Mexico
Emydidae	Trachemys	scripta (scripta)	yellow-bellied slider yellow-bellied terrapin	southeastern United States Florida southeastern Virginia
Geoemydidae	Batagur	affinis	southern river terrapin	southeast Asia Cambodia Indonesia Malaysia	CR^IUCN
Geoemydidae	Batagur	baska	northern river terrapin	Cambodia	CR^IUCN
Geoemydidae	Batagur	borneoensis	painted terrapin	southeast Asia Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Thailand	CR^IUCN
Geoemydidae	Batagur	dhongoka	three-striped roofed turtle	south Asia	CR^IUCN
Geoemydidae	Batagur	kachuga	red-crowned roofed turtle	south Asia	CR^IUCN
Geoemydidae	Batagur	trivittata	Burmese roofed turtle	Myanmar	CR^IUCN
Geoemydidae (Bataguridae)	Mauremys	caspica	Caspian turtle striped-neck terrapin	western Asia Caspian Sea Azerbaijan Georgia Iran Turkey eastern Mediterranean	NA^IUCN
Geoemydidae (Bataguridae)	Mauremys	leprosa	Spanish pond turtle Iberian pond turtle Mediterranean pond turtle	Iberia Portugal Spain northern Africa Morocco Algeria Tunisia	VU^IUCN
Geoemydidae (Bataguridae)	Mauremys	mustica	yellow pond turtle	eastern Asia coastal China: Zhejiang Fujian Guangdong Hainan Vietnam Taiwan	CR^IUCN	decreasing
Geoemydidae	Mauremys	rivulata	Balkan terrapin western Caspian turtle	The Balkans Croatia Montenegro Albania Greece Bulgaria Turkey Cyprus	LC^IUCN
Geoemydidae	Melanochelys	trijuga	Indian pond terrapin Indian black turtle	south Asia India
Geoemydidae	Morenia	ocellata	Bengal eyed terrapin Burmese eyed turtle Burmese peacock turtle	Myanmar Yunnan, China
Geoemydidae	Rhinoclemmys	rubida	Mexican spotted terrapin Mexican spotted wood turtle	Mexico
Geoemydidae	Siebenrockiella	crassicollis	black marsh turtle smiling terrapin	southeast Asia	EN^IUCN
Pelomedusidae	Pelusios	castaneus	West African mud turtle swamp terrapin	central Africa western Africa	LC^IUCN
Pelomedusidae	Pelusios	seychellensis	Seychelles mud turtle	The Seychelles	EX^IUCN
Pelomedusidae	Pelusios	sinuatus	serrated hinged terrapin	southern Africa	LC^IUCN
Pelomedusidae	Pelusios	subniger	black-bellied hinged terrapin	central Africa western Africa	LC^IUCN
Platysternidae	Platysternon	megacephalum	big-headed turtle	southeast Asia Cambodia China Laos Myanmar Thailand Vietnam	CR^IUCN
Podocnemididae	Erymnochelys	madagascariensis	Madagascan big-headed turtle	Madagascar	CR^IUCN

Conventions

Conservation status codes follow the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. We try to show maps to help you see where each species lives. If we cannot show a map, we will describe the area instead. Any species or subspecies that no longer exist and disappeared after the year 1500 CE are marked with a dagger symbol "†".

Etymology

Species

Conventions

Images

Related articles