There have been a few requests, though not on the wishlist, for some more shots of the UMCP. So of course, I am happy to ablige.
This is the newest sculpture of the beloved testudo, located right next to the new Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center. For more information about the Alumni Center, check your inbox, or ask me to forward a recent e-mail to you.
Special thanks to corresponding photographer Royela for the observing the state of Testudo’s nose as in the title of the post.
3 responses so far ↓
1 aleyor // Mar 6, 2008 at 9:04 AM
the best part about this photo is how the words from byrd stadium in the background caption the picture for itself: “testudo of the maryland terrapins”
perfect!
2 Jess Sedgewick // Mar 6, 2008 at 10:54 PM
I was curious, and looked up what a “testudo” was on Wikipedia. It’s a genus of turtle, which seems reasonable enough, but then I looked up the diamondback terrapin, which (as I’m sure I don’t have to tell you) is not only your state reptile but also officially the specific type of terrapin that’s the Maryland mascot, and its genus is Malaclemys. Considering that a) the tortoises of genus Testudo all live overseas and b) Malaclemys is an awesome word, how come the Maryland mascot is called Testudo?
(I am really hoping that it has something to do with the military tactic known as the Testudo formation, so if you could make up an explanation that includes that, I’d be very grateful.)
3 bryan // Mar 6, 2008 at 10:58 PM
Testudo is the basic latin word for turtle, of which the terrapin is a type. The Roman military formation also known as the testudo was so called because as the legionaries locked their shields they formed a shell resembling that of a turtle.
Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.
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