If you are a fan of the University of Maryland, you’ve probably seen a fierce-looking, shell-backed figure hyping up the crowd. That’s Testudo, the official mascot of the Maryland Terrapins.

The diamondback terrapin became Maryland's official state reptile in 1994. However, in 1932, then-football coach Dr. H. Curley Byrd recommended that it be used as the school mascot in response ...