---
title: "Diamondback Terrapin"
description: "Malaclemys terrapin — Reptiles. The diamondback terrapin or simply terrapin (Malaclemys 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."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/diamondback-terrapin
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Diamondback Terrapin

> Malaclemys terrapin — Reptiles. The diamondback terrapin or simply terrapin (Malaclemys 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.

- Scientific name: *Malaclemys terrapin*
- Category: `reptiles` (Reptiles)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 16848
- Wikidata: [Q569170](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q569170)
- iNaturalist taxon: [39836](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/39836)

## Names

- en: Diamondback Terrapin
- de: Diamantschildkröte
- es: Tortuga espalda de diamante
- fr: Malaclémyde à dos diamanté
- nl: Diamantrugschildpad
- pl: Żółw diamentowy

## Countries with the most observations

US (14638), BM (9), HK (3)

## Summary

The diamondback terrapin or simply terrapin (Malaclemys 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.  It has one of the largest ranges of all turtles in North America, stretching as far south as the Florida Keys and as far north as Cape Cod.
The name "terrapin" is derived from the Algonquian word torope. It applies to Malaclemys terrapin in both British English and American English. The name originally was used by early European settlers in North…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamondback_terrapin

## Photo

![Diamondback Terrapin](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/diamondback-terrapin/medium.jpg)

Photo: Simon Tonge · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/9822014

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/diamondback-terrapin?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).