Terrapin

{{Short description|Several species of small turtle living in fresh or brackish water}} {{Conservation status}} {{other uses}}

'''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.<ref name=Chambers>{{cite book |title= The Chambers Dictionary |publisher=Chambers Harrup |year=2011 |edition=12th |isbn=978-0-550-10237-9 |language=en |page=1611}}</ref><ref name=Collins>{{cite book |title=Collins English Dictionary |publisher=Harper Collins |year=1991 |isbn=0-00-433286-5 |language=en |page=1592}}</ref> In American English, they are referred to as '''marsh''', '''pond''', or '''tide-water turtles''', with some species called '''pond sliders''' as well. Whereas tortoises are almost strict herbivores and frugivores — largely feeding on flowers, grasses, leaves, and fallen fruit — a great many terrapins are mainly carnivorous — largely feeding on amphibians, arthropods, freshwater fish, and molluscs — though some are herbivores. Terrapins are identified primarily with the taxonomic family Emydidae,<ref name=Chambers/><ref name=Collins/> but do not form a single taxon and may not be closely related, with some belonging to the families Geoemydidae, Pelomedusidae, Podocnemididae, and Chelydridae. Though primarily aquatic, terrapins do relatively frequently come to land for many reasons, but particularly to warm up by basking in the sun.

==Etymology==

[[File:Diamond terrapin turtle reptile malaclemys terrapin.jpg|thumb|left|Diamondback terrapin]] The name "terrapin" is derived from the word in the ''{{langx|alg|torope}}''<ref name="MW">[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terrapin "Terrapin"] ''www.merriam-webster.com'', accessed 9 November 2021</ref> 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.<ref>Farlex Trivia Dictionary 2012 - cited in https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Testudine</ref>

Terrapins gave their name to a colloquialism for the War of 1812 — 'the Terrapin War' — because, through the blockade, the United States was shut up tight in its shell like a terrapin against the British invasionary forces.<ref>{{cite book |title=Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable |publisher=Cassell & Co. |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-304-35096-4 |language=en |page=1164}}</ref>

==Species==

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) '''Red List of Threatened Species''' — also known as the 'IUCN Red List' or 'Red Data Book' — inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological species,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/about/background-history|title=Background & History|website=The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species|access-date=19 May 2021}}</ref> place most species terrapins as "threatened with extinction" — between vulnerable species and critically endangered.

Terrapin species include:

{{sticky header}}{{table alignment}}{{static row numbers}} {| class="wikitable sortable sticky-header" !Family !Genus !Species (subspecies) !common name !Native natural habitat range !IUCN Red List status !Current population trend !Notes |- |''Chelydridae'' |''Chelydra'' |''acutirostris'' | *South American snapping turtle | *South America | | |(W. Peters, 1862) |- |''Chelydridae'' |''Chelydra'' |''rossignonii'' | *Central American snapping turtle *Mexican snapping turtle *Yucatán snapping turtle | *Central America |{{IUCN status|VU|63660|1}} | |(Bocourt, 1868) |- |''Chelydridae'' |''Chelydra'' |''serpentina'' | *common snapping turtle | *southeastern Canada *United States **eastern US **southeastern US |{{IUCN status|LC|163424|1}} | |(Linnaeus, 1758) |- |''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 |{{IUCN status|EN|232775771|1}} | |a pet in the exotic animal trade that often grows too large and exceeds the abilities for owners to care for and has become an seriously destructive invasive species in many places across central and southern Europe and South Africa |- |''Emydidae'' |''Actinemys'' |''marmorata'' | *western pond turtle | *western United States *Mexico |{{IUCN status|VU|4969|1}} | | |- |''Emydidae'' |''Clemmys'' |''guttata'' | *spotted turtle | *southern Canada **Ontario *eastern United States **the eastern Great Lakes **east of the Appalachian Mountains |{{IUCN status|EN|4968|1}} | | |- |''Emydidae'' |''Emydoidea'' |''blandingii'' | *Blanding's turtle | *North American Great Lakes *parts of the US Great Plains *New England coastal lands |{{IUCN status|EN|7709|1}} |decreasing | |- |''Emydidae'' |''Emys'' |''orbicularis'' | *European pond terrapin | *central Europe *parts of northern Africa *western Asia |{{IUCN status|NT|7717|1}} | | |- |''Emydidae'' |''Glyptemys'' |''muhlenbergii'' | *bog turtle | *eastern United States |{{IUCN status|CR|4967|1}} | | |- |''Emydidae'' |''Glyptemys'' |''insculpta'' | *wood turtle | *northeastern United States |{{IUCN status|EN|4965|1}} | | |- |''Emydidae'' |''Malaclemys'' |''terrapin'' | *diamondback terrapin | *North America *Bermuda |{{IUCN status|VU|12695|1}} | | |- |''Emydidae'' |''Trachemys'' |''scripta (elegans)'' | *red-eared slider *red-eared terrapin | *southern United States *northern Mexico | | |a popular pet and an invasive species in many places |- |''Emydidae'' |''Trachemys'' |''scripta (scripta)'' | *yellow-bellied slider *yellow-bellied terrapin | *southeastern United States **Florida **southeastern Virginia | | |a popular pet and an invasive species in many places |- |''Geoemydidae'' |''Batagur'' |''affinis'' | *southern river terrapin | *southeast Asia **Cambodia **Indonesia **Malaysia |{{IUCN status|CR|170501|1}} | | |- |''Geoemydidae'' |''Batagur'' |''baska'' | *northern river terrapin | *Cambodia |{{IUCN status|CR|97358453|1}} | | |- |''Geoemydidae'' |''Batagur'' |''borneoensis'' | *painted terrapin | *southeast Asia **Brunei **Indonesia **Malaysia **Thailand |{{IUCN status|CR|163458|1}} | | |- |''Geoemydidae'' |''Batagur'' |''dhongoka'' | *three-striped roofed turtle | *south Asia |{{IUCN status|CR|10953|1}} | | |- |''Geoemydidae'' |''Batagur'' |''kachuga'' | *red-crowned roofed turtle | *south Asia |{{IUCN status|CR|10949|1}} | | |- |''Geoemydidae'' |''Batagur'' |''trivittata'' | *Burmese roofed turtle | *Myanmar |{{IUCN status|CR|10952|1}} | | |- |''Geoemydidae (Bataguridae)'' |''Mauremys'' |''caspica'' | *Caspian turtle *striped-neck terrapin | *western Asia **Caspian Sea **Azerbaijan **Georgia **Iran **Turkey *eastern Mediterranean |{{IUCN status|NA|163446|1}} | | |- |''Geoemydidae (Bataguridae)'' |''Mauremys'' |''leprosa'' | *Spanish pond turtle *Iberian pond turtle *Mediterranean pond turtle | *Iberia **Portugal **Spain *northern Africa **Morocco **Algeria **Tunisia |{{IUCN status|VU|158468|1}} | | |- |''Geoemydidae (Bataguridae)'' |''Mauremys'' |''mustica'' | *yellow pond turtle | *eastern Asia **coastal China: ***Zhejiang ***Fujian ***Guangdong ***Hainan **Vietnam **Taiwan |{{IUCN status|CR|39613|1}} |decreasing | *inhabits ponds, creeks, swamps, marshes, and other bodies of shallow, slow-moving water *omnivorous, feeding on insects, fish, tadpoles, and vegetable matter such as leaves and seeds |- |''Geoemydidae'' |''Mauremys'' |''rivulata'' | *Balkan terrapin *western Caspian turtle | *The Balkans **Croatia **Montenegro **Albania **Greece **Bulgaria *Turkey *Cyprus |{{IUCN status|LC|158470|1}} | | |- |''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 |{{IUCN status|EN|39616|1}} | | |- |''Pelomedusidae'' |''Pelusios'' |''castaneus'' | *West African mud turtle *swamp terrapin | *central Africa *western Africa |{{IUCN status|LC|41601|1}} | | |- |''Pelomedusidae'' |''Pelusios'' |''seychellensis'' | *Seychelles mud turtle | *The Seychelles |{{IUCN status|EX|16527|1}} | | |- |''Pelomedusidae'' |''Pelusios'' |''sinuatus'' | *serrated hinged terrapin | *southern Africa |{{IUCN status|LC|16530|1}} | | |- |''Pelomedusidae'' |''Pelusios'' |''subniger'' | *black-bellied hinged terrapin | *central Africa *western Africa |{{IUCN status|LC|41602|1}} | | |- |''Platysternidae'' |''Platysternon'' |''megacephalum'' | *big-headed turtle | *southeast Asia **Cambodia **China **Laos **Myanmar **Thailand **Vietnam |{{IUCN status|CR|17585|1}} | | |- |''Podocnemididae'' |''Erymnochelys'' |''madagascariensis'' | *Madagascan big-headed turtle | *Madagascar |{{IUCN status|CR|8070|1}} | | |- |} {{clear}}

thumb|upright=1.35|alt=Icons for Red List categories|1994 IUCN Red List categories (ver. 2.3) for species not reassessed since 2001

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|''[[]]'' |''[[]]'' |'''' | *terrapin | *[[]] *[[]] *[[]] |{{IUCN status|EN|####|1}} | | |-

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==Conventions== {{IUCN statuses|ex=1|ew=0|cr=10|en=5|vu=4|nt=1|lc=5|dd=0|ne=0}}

Conservation status codes listed follow the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Range maps are provided wherever possible; if a range map is not available, a description of the range is provided. Ranges are based on the IUCN Red List for that species unless otherwise noted. All extinct species or subspecies listed alongside extant species went extinct after 1500 CE, and are indicated by a dagger symbol "{{dagger|alt=Extinct}}". {{Incomplete list|date=February 2026}}

==See also== {{portal|Ecology|Biology|World}}

{{div col}} *Reptilia **Crocodilia **Rhynchocephalia **Squamata **Testudine ***Tortoise ***Turtle

*Wildlife conservation *Conservation status *CITES *The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) **IUCN Red List **:Category:Species by IUCN Red List category {{div col end}}

==References== {{Reflist}} {{Wiktionary}}

Category:Reptile common names Category:Batagur Category:Emys Category:Malaclemys Category:Mauremys Category:Melanochelys Category:Morenia Category:Pelusios Category:Rhinoclemmys Category:Siebenrockiella Category:Trachemys