A terrapin is a reptile which has a thick shell covering its body and which lives partly in water and partly on land. a small turtle that lives in water in warm areas (From an language). Any omnivorous aquatic turtle of the family Emydidae, especially the diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin). The diamondback inhabits salt marshes and coasts from New England to the Gulf of Mexico. It has raised diamond-shaped patterns on its brownish or black upper shell. The female attains a shell length of about 9 in. (23 cm); the male grows to about 6 in. (14 cm). The eight species of the turtle genus Pseudemys (or Chrysemys) are sometimes referred to as terrapins. They inhabit freshwaters from the northeastern U.S. to Argentina. The female's shell is 6-16 in. (15-40 cm) long. Infant red-eared turtles (P. scripta elegans) are sold in pet shops
One of several turtles of the genus Malaclemys of the southern Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, having edible flesh and a carapace with diamond-shaped ridged or knobbed markings