Editing Diamondback Terrapin

{{Infobox
|image = [[File:Diamondback-terrapin-menunketesuck.jpg|260px|alt=Black Rat Snake in Washington, CT]]
|header1 = Diamondback Terrapin
|label2 = Binomial Name
|data2 = ''Malaclemys terrapin''
|label3 = Connecticut Conservation Status
|data3 = Not Listed
|label4 = Federally Endangered?
|data4 = No
|label5 = IUCN Category
|data5 = LR (nt)
|label6 = Confirmed Locations
|data6 = 1
|label7 = Confirmed Sightings
|data7 = 1
|label8 = Photodocumented Specimens
|data8 = 1
}}
The '''Diamondback Terrapin''' (''Malaclemys terrapin'') is the only turtle native to Connecticut which lives in brackish water such as marshes and estuaries.

== Conservation Status ==

Despite a historic decline in population, Diamondback Terrapins have rebounded to some degree and their population is relatively stable in Connecticut and elsewhere.

They are not listed on Connecticut's 2010 Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species List<ref name="ct-etsc-reptiles">Connecticut. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. ''Endangered, Threatened & Special Concern Reptile''s. 2010. Web. <http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2702&q=323484&depNav_GID=1628>.</ref>, nor are they listed as a Federal Endangered Species.  Although the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies ''M. terrapin'' as a Lower Risk (LR) species, it is sub-classified as near-threatened (nt)<ref name="iucn-1996">"Malaclemys terrapin." ''The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species''. International Union for Conservation of Nature, 1996. Web. 24 May 2012. <http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/12695/0>.</ref>.

== Confirmed Location & Sightings ==

Although Diamondback Terrapins aren't especially rare in Connecticut, I have only seen one individual in the wild.

=== McKinney National Wildlife Refuge (Salt Meadow Unit/Menunketesuck Island) ===

On July 11, 2010, I photo-documented an ''M. terrapin'' specimen offshore of Westbrook, Connecticut, approximately 20 to 30 feet from the northern end of Menunketesuck Island.  Menunketesuck Island is a portion of the Salt Meadow Unit of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge.

Although the area in the vicinity of Menunketesuck Island generally fits the profile of ''M. terrapin'' habitat (brackish estuary / close proximity to salt marsh), it has historically been quite unusual to find these turtles in Westbrook Harbor.  Despite nearly 25 years of experience with coastal wildlife of Westbrook Harbor, this is the only instance in which I have observed ''M. terrapin''.

== References ==

<references/>

[[Category:Turtles]]
[[Category:Reptiles]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Living Organisms]]