Illustration of diamondback terrapin
- diamondback terrapin
diamondback terrapin
noun
: a terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) formerly widely distributed in salt marshes along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts but now much restricted
Examples of diamondback terrapin in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Dozens of diamondback terrapins negotiating the road tucked their heads as an occasional vehicle approached.
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Tribune News Service, New York Daily News, 12 July 2024
In addition to being costly, coastal erosion associated with floods and storm surges threatens the habitat of shorebirds like sandpipers and plovers, as well as nesting turtles like the diamondback terrapin.
—Krista Langlois, Outside Online, 10 Mar. 2023
In the late eighteen-hundreds, great and snowy egrets were killed to supply white feathers for women’s hats; a generation later, diamondback terrapin turtles were harvested for a gourmet soup trend, and got a reprieve only in 1920, when Prohibition made scarce a key ingredient: sherry.
—Erik Baard, The New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2022
An adorable diamondback terrapin baby turtle found in Barnstable, Massachusetts.
—Cheryl Maguire, Discover Magazine, 14 Feb. 2022
The diamondback terrapin became vulnerable to extinction due to pet trading and human consumption over the last century (they were once commonly eaten in soup).
—Cheryl Maguire, Discover Magazine, 14 Feb. 2022
In 2014, 11 baby diamondback terrapin turtles were found inside a FedEx package at the Calgary International Airport.
—Longreads, 17 Nov. 2021
The hatchling — a diamondback terrapin born from a nest in West Barnstable — has two heads and six legs, making the reptile, whose species is already threatened, that much rarer.
—Ashley Boucher, PEOPLE.com, 12 Oct. 2021
The northern diamondback terrapin is a medium-sized turtle that ranges in length from 4 to 5.5 inches in males to 6 to 9 inches in females, according to the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
—Anna Sturla, CNN, 9 May 2021
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Tribune News Service, New York Daily News, 12 July 2024
In addition to being costly, coastal erosion associated with floods and storm surges threatens the habitat of shorebirds like sandpipers and plovers, as well as nesting turtles like the diamondback terrapin.
—Krista Langlois, Outside Online, 10 Mar. 2023
In the late eighteen-hundreds, great and snowy egrets were killed to supply white feathers for women’s hats; a generation later, diamondback terrapin turtles were harvested for a gourmet soup trend, and got a reprieve only in 1920, when Prohibition made scarce a key ingredient: sherry.
—Erik Baard, The New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2022
An adorable diamondback terrapin baby turtle found in Barnstable, Massachusetts.
—Cheryl Maguire, Discover Magazine, 14 Feb. 2022
The diamondback terrapin became vulnerable to extinction due to pet trading and human consumption over the last century (they were once commonly eaten in soup).
—Cheryl Maguire, Discover Magazine, 14 Feb. 2022
In 2014, 11 baby diamondback terrapin turtles were found inside a FedEx package at the Calgary International Airport.
—Longreads, 17 Nov. 2021
The hatchling — a diamondback terrapin born from a nest in West Barnstable — has two heads and six legs, making the reptile, whose species is already threatened, that much rarer.
—Ashley Boucher, PEOPLE.com, 12 Oct. 2021
The northern diamondback terrapin is a medium-sized turtle that ranges in length from 4 to 5.5 inches in males to 6 to 9 inches in females, according to the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
—Anna Sturla, CNN, 9 May 2021
Cite this Entry
“Diamondback terrapin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diamondback%20terrapin. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
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