Terrapin

For other uses, see Terrapin (disambiguation).

Terrapins or water tortoises are a group of several species of aquatic reptile of the order Testudines living primarily in fresh or brackish tidal waters, but have the clawed feet of tortoises and not flippers of marine turtles.[1][2] In American English, they are referred to as marsh or pond turtles, with some species called pond sliders as well. Terrapins are identified primarily with the taxonomic family Emydidae,[1][2] but do not form a single taxon and may not be closely related, with some belonging to the families Geoemydidae, Platysternidae, and Chelydridae. Though primarily aquatic, terrapins do relatively frequently come to land for many reasons, but particularly to bask in the sun to warm their cold bodies.

The name "terrapin" is derived from the word in the Algonquian languages: torope[3] that referred to the species Malaclemys terrapin, the diamondback terrapin. It appears that the term became part of common usage during the colonial era of North America and was carried back to Great Britain. Since then, it has been used in common names for freshwater species of Testudines in the English language, but is not as widely used in North America.[4]

Species

Terrapin species include:

Family Genus Species
(subspecies) 		common name Native natural habitat range Notes
Chelydridae Chelydra acutirostris South American snapping turtle (W. Peters, 1862)
Chelydridae Chelydra rossignonii Central American snapping turtle (Bocourt, 1868)
Chelydridae Chelydra serpentina common snapping turtle (Linnaeus, 1758)
Chelydridae Macrochelys temminckii alligator snapping turtle
Emydidae Actinemys marmorata western pond turtle
Emydidae Clemmys guttata spotted turtle
  • [[]]
Emydidae Emys orbicularis European pond terrapin
Emydidae Glyptemys muhlenbergii bog turtle
Emydidae Glyptemys insculpta wood turtle
Emydidae Malaclemys terrapin diamondback terrapin
Emydidae Trachemys scripta (elegans) red-eared slider
red-eared terrapin 		a popular pet and an invasive species in many places
Emydidae Trachemys scripta (scripta) yellow-bellied slider
yellow-bellied terrapin 		a popular pet and an invasive species in many places
Geoemydidae Batagur affinis southern river terrapin
Geoemydidae Batagur baska northern river terrapin
Geoemydidae Batagur borneoensis painted terrapin
Geoemydidae Batagur dhongoka three-striped roofed turtle
Geoemydidae Batagur kachuga red-crowned roofed turtle
Geoemydidae Batagur trivittata Burmese roofed turtle
Geoemydidae
(Bataguridae) 		Mauremys caspica Caspian turtle
striped-neck terrapin
Geoemydidae Melanochelys trijuga Indian pond terrapin
Indian black turtle
Geoemydidae Morenia ocellata Bengal eyed terrapin
Burmese eyed turtle
Burmese peacock turtle
Geoemydidae Rhinoclemmys rubida Mexican spotted terrapin
Mexican spotted wood turtle
Geoemydidae Siebenrockiella crassicollis black marsh turtle
smiling terrapin
Pelomedusidae Pelusios sinuatus serrated hinged terrapin
Pelomedusidae Pelusios castaneus West African mud turtle
swamp terrapin

See also

References

  1. ^ a b The Chambers Dictionary (12th ed.). Chambers Harrup. 2011. p. 1611. ISBN 978-0-550-10237-9.
  2. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary. Harper Collins. 1991. p. 1592. ISBN 0-00-433286-5.
  3. ^ "Terrapin" www.merriam-webster.com, accessed 9 November 2021
  4. ^ Farlex Trivia Dictionary 2012 - cited in https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Testudine
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