Posted by Joli McCue on April 26, 2006

Q: I work at An ANimal Hospital. A client recently came in with a turtle of unknown species. The shell resembles that of a red ear slider, but the body is very light grey with multiple large black spots. Any ideas on what type of turtle this might be?

State: New York

A: I immediately wondered where the turtle was originally found but I think I can figure this out from your description. My guess is that the turtle was found near the ocean! Right? It sounds to me that you have a Northern Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrepin). These turtles are found in salt and brackish water along the eastern seaboard from Massachusettes all the way to Texas. The shell of these turtles can be especially variable so one may not look a lot like another and cause a bit of confusion.

Diamondback Terrapins feed on crustaceans, fish, mollusks and insects and were once eagerly sought after as food. Female terrapins are quite a bit larger than males (6-9" females vs. 4-5.5" males). Although once quite rare, their numbers have bounced back from over-harvesting and these beautiful creatures are reasonably common in certain coastal areas. Hope this helps with your ID. If you google this turtle you should be able to confirm my ID. Thanks for your question.

John Wiessinger ( April 27, 2006)