DIAMONDBACK TERRAPIN (Main steamy: palustris). This far-famed turtle be longs to the family Emydide and may be recognized by the unhinged plastron or lower shell, the concentric grooves and ridges which mark each plate of the upper shell or carapace, the smooth unnotched jaws, smooth skin cover ing the head, and dark olive or black color. Unlike most terrapins, the diamondback inhabits salt and brackish waters, living in the marshes which fringe our seacoast from Cape Cod to Texas. Formerly very abundant throughout this region, the constant extensive fishing to supply the markets has greatly reduced its num bers, so that the problem of its artificial props is gation s now being taken up seriously. The principal fisheries are in Chesapeake Bay and on the coasts of New Jersey and North Caro lina. Although a considerable number are dug from the mud while hibernating, a much larger proportion are captured by means of traps, seines, etc., during the summer months, and
are confined in pens, where they are fed on oys ters, fish, and celery to fatten them for the win ter market. From the point of view of the epi cure, the diamondback is perhaps the most famous and esteemed product of American waters, and during the season of greatest de mand commands almost fabulous prices. Those commonly sold have a length of shell of from five to eight inches, and are supposed to be from 6 to 10 years old. The habits differ but little from those of other terrapins. Thty are omnivorous, lay their eggs in June and July in small nests excavated in some warm sandy bank, and hibernate during the winter after burying themselves a few inches beneath the mud. See TURTLES.