Conservationists are calling for protection to be stepped up for Bermuda's latest addition to it's native list the diamondback terrapin.

A study published in January's addition of TheRoyal Society's Biology Letter's states definitively that the diamondback terrapins found in ponds on the Mid Ocean golf course are native.

It further recommends that the species should be protected as that is the "major goal of conservation".

The study was done by a research team which included Bermudians Mark Outerbridge, a field ecologist for the Bermuda Biodiversity Project, and David Wingate a conservationist for the Bermuda Audubon Society.

It was a follow-up to a previous study from 2005 where the distribution of the diamondback terrapin was determined and the question of it being introduced or native to the Island was raised.

With the help of DNA evidence, carbon dating and environmental data from thousands of years ago, Mr. Outerbridge and the team established that the diamondbacks have been native to Bermuda for almost 3,000 years.

Mr. Outerbridge said: "They are not listed on the protected species list, but we are talking about an isolated population and there are not many of them.

"Bermuda is the only other place in the world, apart from the East Coast of America, where they are found in the wild breeding. Now that we have added them to our (native) list we naturally find we have the obligation to protect these guys.

"We need to come up with numbers we need to specify why we need to list them because we know by telling their story we are increasing the possible risk of readers going out and finding them.

"These terrapins, which should not be confused with the common red ear Slider terrapin, a pet store favourite, are only found along a thin band of the East Coast of America from Cape Cod to Texas and in two ponds on the Mid Ocean golf course Mangrove Lake and Trott's Pond.

Now native to the Island, they are only the second non-marine reptile, after the Bermuda Rock Skink to be added to the Island's native list.

It took this long to prove the diamondbacks were native because they were delicacies between 1880 and the 1920s until prohibition in the U.S. banned the necessary brandy for the soup.

The terrapins were therefore transported, relocated and farmed in high numbers leaving some debate as to whether those in Bermuda moved naturally or by man.Carbon dating on a diamondback subfossil rescued from a cave by Mr. Wingate in the 1970s was too inaccurate to rule out transportation to the Island by sailors.However, for the latest study, improvements in carbon dating placed the mostly likely age of the subfossil to be between the years 1452 and 1554, which is before settlers.Add this updated information to DNAevidence that links the diamondbacks here with those found in South Carolina proved that these reptiles must have bobbed along the gulf stream to naturally land in Bermuda.

Their habitats both here and along the US East Coast, however, have been deteriorated by crabbing pots in the Carolinas and destruction of nesting sites.Mr. Outerbridge added: "In some states they are bordering on extinction. They are still harvested for food and there has been a major loss in habitat. "Highways run between the mangroves (their habitat) and the beaches (the terrapins nesting sites)."So while Mr. Outerbridge understands there is a need to tell the diamondbacks' Bermudian story and protect them he also worries about advertising the terrapins, making them attractive to exotic animal collectors.

That's why he hopes to continue his study of the diamondbacks by collecting data on their numbers and making sure they are added to the protected list.To read the study in full visit The Royal Society website at: http://publishing.royalsociety.org where it will cost $50 or the paper version of the magazine will be printed this month.