Food isn't normally associated with nicknames, but Maryland's Terrapins isn't your average team mascot. Terrapins are Turtles from North America and are found in both fresh and salt water, and they are used as food. Terrapin soup was almost the undoing of the native Maryland species. A popular dish in restaurants in the 19th century, terrapins came from salt marshes. Diamondback terrapins were adopted as the school mascot by Maryland president H C "Curley" Byrd in 1933. Byrd believed it represented Maryland well. Keeping headlines shorter, local media shortened Terrapins to Terps. Testudo, a bronze statue of the new mascot, was donated to the university by the Class of 1933. Testudo was often stolen by fans of other schools, so in early 1949, school officials had the statue filled with cement to thwart further attempts to steal it. Byrd Stadium is named after the man who first brought the Terrapins to Maryland, and the statue of Testudo stands behind it proudly.