SHOWING RECORD: 1 of 5 Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle
Photograph by Tony Hamblin; Frank Lane picture Agency/Corbis
Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle
Apalone spinifera spinifera
Subspecies of Spiny Softshell Turtle
July 29, 1806, at the confluence of the Tongue and Yellowstone Rivers at present-day Miles City, Custer County, Montana.
Shell covered with soft leathery skin, not horny scutes. Large carapace with black-bordered eye spots and one dark rim line. Length: males 5-9.3 in (12.7-23.5 cm); females 6.5-18 in (16.5-45.7 cm).
Small marshy creeks and farm ponds as well as large, fast-flowing rivers and lakes.
Western New York to Wisconsin, south to Tennessee River, with separate population in Lake Champlain and lower part of Ottawa River in Canada; introduced into southern New Jersey.
Difficult to approach and fast-moving on land and in water. It is fond of basking on banks, logs, and floating debris. Carnivorous.
