Common Name:  Wood Turtle
Scientific Name:  Glyptemys insculpta

What's in a name?

The first part of the Wood Turtle's scientific name, the genus, is Glyptemys.  Glyptemys is a combination of the Greek words glyptos which means 'carved' and emys meaning 'fresh-water tortoise'.  The second part of the scientific name is the species.  In the present case, the species is insculpta, which is Latin for 'engraved'.     

The scientific name of the wood turtle was changed last in 2001.  Previously, its scientific name was Clemmys insculpta.  For a complete listing of all previous scientific names assigned to the wood turtle over the last 170 years, click the taxonomy link above.