REVIEW OF EXPERIMENTS ON ARTIFICIAL CULTURE OF 
DIAMOND-BACK TERRAPIN 1 
By SAMUEL F. HILDEBRAND 
Director, U. S. Fisheries Biological Station, Beaufort, N. C. 
CONTENTS 
Page 
Introduction 25 
Explanations 27 
Distribution of terrapins 27 
Experiments conducted and sources of 
information 28 
Production of eggs 28 
Fertility of eggs 32 
Records of survival 36 
Rate of growth 44 
Growth of young terrapins kept 
warm and fed during the winter. _ 45 
Food 52 
Crowding , 53 
Comparison of the size of winter-fed 
and hibernating terrapins at about 
1 year of age 54 
Page 
Rate of growth — Continued. 
Growth of terrapins past 1 year of age. 54 
Conclusions 58 
Period of activity 64 
Food, feeding, and cost of food 64 
Copulation, laying season, and incubation 
period 65 
Space requirements 65 
Sex ratio 66 
Summary 68 
Bibliography 70 
INTRODUCTION 
It is a well-known fact that the diamond-back terrapin (Malaclemmys) once was 
plentiful. When this animal first came into demand only the terrapins taken in 
Chesapeake Bay and northward brought a good price, and the more southern terrapins 
frequently were shipped to dealers at certain points on Chesapeake Bay, to be re- 
shipped from thence to the larger cities as “Cliesapeakes.” Gradually the Carolina 
terrapins gained in favor, and more often they were shipped directly to the larger 
markets. The practice of sending southern terrapins to dealers on Chesapeake Bay, 
however, appears not to have been discontinued entirely, as the writer has been in- 
formed authoritatively that some southern animals are still sent there to be reshipped. 
It is not known to the writer whether the more northern terrapins actually excel in 
flavor. It seems probable, though, that the difference is not great or Chesapeake 
dealers would not, for many years, have been able to sell animals from the South as 
“Chesapeakes.” 
1 Submitted for publication Nov. 16, 1928. 
25 
