When Turtles Attack

Donatello the Diamondback Terrapin is our mascot here in the VIMS Marine Biodiversity Lab. Some construction workers found him and brought him to us a couple years ago when he was just a wee hatchling. Donny adapted to captivity pretty well, and quickly grew to full size for a male. He is easily goaded into snapping at fingers through the glass, providing good entertainment for young visitors to the lab.



Diamondback terrapins are in the same taxonomic group as freshwater turtles, but they are unique in being the only species to live exclusively in brackish estuaries like Chesapeake Bay.