These two changes have made it possible for this animal to slowly rebuild its populations. A Salt Marsh Turtle Diamondback terrapins are North American turtles that live in salt marshes and nearby tidal waters. They have been given the scientific name Malaclemys terrapin . There are seven different kinds of Malaclemys terrapin found along the Atla ntic and Gulf coasts from Massachusetts to Mexico. Their range often includes estuaries, coastal rivers, mangrove swamps and the open sea.
Terrapin is an Algonquian Indian word for edible turtles that live in fresh or brackish water.
Water is brackish if it contains some salt, but it is not as salty as ocean water. Diamondbacks are the only turtles in the world that live exclusively in brackish water. In Maryland, they live in the salt marshes of the Chesapeake and Chincoteague Bays where they feed on sof t clams and razor clams. They also eat snails, crabs, shrimp and even the roots and shoots of marsh plants. Terrapins are reptiles, as are all turtles.