Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Spiny Softshell Turtle

Apalone spinifera

(LeSueur, 1827)

Spiny Softshell Turtle

G5Secure Found in 12 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
MediumThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100616
Element CodeARAAG01030
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
CITESAppendix III
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassChelonia
OrderTestudines
FamilyTrionychidae
GenusApalone
Synonyms
Amyda ferox spinifera(Le Sueur, 1827)Trionyx ferox spiniferaLe Sueur, 1827Trionyx spiniferusLe Sueur, 1827
Other Common Names
Spiny Softshell (EN) spiny softshell turtle (EN) Tortue-molle à épines (FR)
Concept Reference
King, F. W., and R. L. Burke, editors. 1989. Crocodilian, tuatara, and turtle species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Association of Systematics Collections, Washington, D.C. 216 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
Includes six subspecies: A. s. spinifera (Eastern Spiny Softshell), A. s. aspera (Gulf Coast Spiny Softshell), A. s. atra (Black Spiny Softshell), A. s. emoryi (Texas Spiny Softshell), A. s. guadalupensis (Guadalupe Spiny Softshell), and A. s. pallida (Pallid Spiny Softshell),

McGaugh et al. (2008) examined the deep lineage divide (based on mtDNA data) between southeastern + northern subspecies (A. s. aspera + A. s. hartwegi + A. s. spinifera) and western subspecies (A. s. pallida + A. s. emoryi + A. s. guadalupensis) with broader sampling and using mitochondrial and nuclear markers. The southeastern + northern clade and the western clade maintained mitochondrial reciprocal monophyly, but nuclear loci showed no phylogenetic resolution and suggested that taxonomic elevation of the two mitochondrial clades would be currently unjustified. Genetic data did not support the subspecific distinction between A. s. spinifera and A. s. hartwegi; McGaugh et al. (2008) suggested that the two taxa be lumped (as A. s. spinifera).

This species was removed from genus Trionyx and placed in genus Apalone by Meylan (1987). North American softshell turtles were retained in Trionyx by Webb (1990) and Ernst et al. (1994). Subsequently, most authorities have accepted Apalone as the generic name for North American softshell turtles.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-02-02
Change Date1996-10-23
Edition Date2011-06-17
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Threat ImpactMedium
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 - 300
Rank Reasons
Large range in eastern, central, and southwestern North America; many occurrences; locally common; no evidence of substantial declines.
Range Extent Comments
Range extends from Montana to southern Quebec, south to northern Mexico and the Florida panhandle. Disjunct populations exist in several areas around the periphery of the range. This turtle has been introduced in the Colorado-Gila river system and in New Jersey. It is also introduced and established in southeastern Virginia (Mitchell and Southwick, 1993, Brimleyana 18:99-102).
Occurrences Comments
The number of distinct occurrences has not been determined using standardized criteria, but this turtle occurs in a very large number of stream systems.
Threat Impact Comments
"While Apalone spinifera has long been exploited for local consumption (Webb 1962) and more recently for export of adults for food and of hatchlings as pets and for Asian farming operations, and some individuals are destroyed as nuisance by-catch by recreational fishermen, are run over when crossing roads, and populations are affected by pollution, water diversion, and water infrastructure development, the species as a whole is not threatened in its existence by present processes." Source: van Dijk (2010).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Habitat includes large rivers, river impoundments, lakes, ponds along rivers, pools along intermittent streams, bayous, oxbows; usually in areas with open sandy or mud banks and soft bottom. These turtles bask on shores or on partially submerged logs. Periods of inactivity are spent burrowed in bottom sediments in well-oxygenated sites. Eggs are laid in nests dug in open areas in sand, gravel, or soft soil near water.

Reproduction

Reproductive females deposit one or more (usually two) clutches of usually 12-18 eggs (extremes 4-39), May to August (June and July in most areas) (Webb 1962, Ernst and Lovich 2009). Eggs hatch August-October; some hatchlings may overwinter in the nest and emerge in spring.
Terrestrial Habitats
Sand/dune
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN2
ProvinceRankNative
QuebecS1Yes
OntarioS2Yes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
PennsylvaniaS4Yes
IowaSNRYes
CaliforniaSNANo
North DakotaSNRYes
ArizonaSNANo
ArkansasSNRYes
TennesseeS5Yes
South DakotaS3Yes
New YorkS2Yes
FloridaS3Yes
MarylandS1Yes
OhioSNRYes
NebraskaS5Yes
ColoradoS4Yes
UtahSNAYes
West VirginiaSNRYes
IndianaS4Yes
MissouriS5Yes
WyomingS4Yes
New JerseySNANo
South CarolinaS5Yes
MichiganS4Yes
OklahomaS5Yes
LouisianaS5Yes
New MexicoS4Yes
VirginiaS2Yes
AlabamaS3Yes
GeorgiaS5Yes
IllinoisS5Yes
MontanaS3Yes
TexasS4Yes
NevadaSNANo
KansasS5Yes
MississippiS5Yes
WisconsinS4Yes
VermontS1Yes
MassachusettsSNANo
MinnesotaS5Yes
KentuckySNRYes
North CarolinaS3Yes
Roadless Areas (12)
Arizona (2)
AreaForestAcres
Butterfly Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest42,296
Lower San FranciscoApache-Sitgreaves National Forests59,310
Kentucky (1)
AreaForestAcres
WolfpenDaniel Boone National Forest2,835
New Mexico (3)
AreaForestAcres
Candian RiverCibola National Forest7,149
Gila BoxGila National Forest23,759
Lower San FranciscoGila National Forest26,460
Pennsylvania (2)
AreaForestAcres
Allegheny FrontAllegheny National Forest7,430
Tracy RidgeAllegheny National Forest9,034
Tennessee (1)
AreaForestAcres
Beaver Dam CreekCherokee National Forest5,070
Utah (1)
AreaForestAcres
CottonwoodDixie National Forest6,754
Virginia (1)
AreaForestAcres
Beaver Dam CreekJefferson National Forest1,135
West Virginia (1)
AreaForestAcres
Dry ForkMonongahela National Forest657
References (22)
  1. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2008. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. Sixth edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Herpetological Circular 37:1-84. Online with updates at: http://www.ssarherps.org/pages/comm_names/Index.php
  2. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2017. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 8th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 43:1-104. [Updates in SSAR North American Species Names Database at: https://ssarherps.org/cndb]
  3. Daigle, C., P. Galois, and Y. Chagnon. 2002. Nesting activities of an eastern spiny softshell turtle, <i>Apalone spinifera</i>. Canadian Field-Naturalist 116:104-107.
  4. Ernst. C. H., and J. E. Lovich. 2009. Turtles of the United States and Canada. Second edition, revised and updated. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. xii + 827 pp.
  5. Ernst, C. H., and R. W. Barbour. 1972. Turtles of the United States. Univ. Press of Kentucky, Lexington. x + 347 pp.
  6. Ernst, C. H., R. W. Barbour, and J. E. Lovich. 1994. Turtles of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. xxxviii + 578 pp.
  7. Galois, P., M. Leveille, L. Bouthillier, C. Daigle, and S. Parren. 2002. Movement patterns, activity, and home range of the eastern spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera) in northern Lake Champlain, Quebec, Vermont. Journal of Herpetology 36:402-411.
  8. Graham, T. E., and A. A. Graham. 1997. Ecology of the eastern spiny softshell, APALONE SPINIFERA SPINIFERA, in the Lamoille River, Vermont. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 2(3):363-369.
  9. Hammerson, G. A. 1982b. Amphibians and reptiles in Colorado. Colorado Division of Wildlife, Denver. vii + 131 pp.
  10. Hammerson, G. A. 1999. Amphibians and reptiles in Colorado. Second edition. University Press of Colorado, Boulder. xxvi + 484 pp.
  11. King, F. W., and R. L. Burke, editors. 1989. Crocodilian, tuatara, and turtle species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Association of Systematics Collections, Washington, D.C. 216 pp.
  12. Krysko, K. L., J. P. Burgess, M. R. Rochford, C. R. Gillette, D. Cueva, K. M. Enge, L. A. Somma, J. L. Stabile, D. C. Smith, J. A. Wasilewski, and G. N. Kieckhefer III. 2011. Verified non-indigenous amphibians and reptiles in Florida from 1863 through 2010: outlining the invasion process and identifying invasion pathways and stages. Zootaxa 3028: 1-64.
  13. McGaugh, S. E., C. M. Eckerman, and F. J. Janzen. 2008. Molecular phylogeography of <i>Apalone spinifera</i> (Reptilia, Trionychidae). Zoologica Scripta 37:289-304.
  14. Meylan, P. A. 1987. The phylogenetic relationships of soft-shelled turtles (Family Trionychidae). Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 186:1-101.
  15. Portofee, M.C., M.A. Child, and D.R. Edds. 2017. Semiaquatic turtles of Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County, Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 120(1–2):68-72.
  16. Turtle Taxonomy Working Group (TTWG) [Rhodin, A. G. J., J. B. Iverson, R. Bour, U. Fritz, A. Georges, H. B. Shaffer, and P. P. van Dijk]. 2021. Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status (9th Ed.). In: Rhodin, A. G. J., J. B. Iverson , P. P. van Dijk, C. B. Stanford, E. V. Goode, K. A. Buhlmann, and R. A. Mittermeier (Eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs 8:1–472. doi: 10.3854/crm.8.checklist.atlas.v9.2021.
  17. Turtle Taxonomy Working Group [van Dijk, P.P., Iverson, J.B., Shaffer, H.B., Bour, R., and Rhodin, A.G.J.]. 2012. Turtles of the world, 2012 update: annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution, and conservation status. In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Pritchard, P.C.H., van Dijk, P.P., Saumure, R.A., Buhlmann, K.A., Iverson, J.B., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs No. 5:000.243-000.328. Online. Available: www.iucn-tftsg.org/cbftt/.
  18. van Dijk, P.P. 2010. <i>Apalone spinifera</i>. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 17 June 2011.
  19. Vogt, R. C. 1981c. Natural history of amphibians and reptiles of Wisconsin. Milwaukee Public Museum. 205 pp.
  20. Webb, R.G. 1973. <i>Trionyx spiniferus</i>. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles 140.1-140.4.
  21. Webb, R. G. 1990. <i>Trionyx</i>. Cat. Am. Amph. Rep. 487.1-487.7.
  22. Weisrock, D. W., and F. J. Janzen. 2000. Comparative molecular phylogeography of North American softshell turtles (<i>Apalone</i>): implications for regional and wide-scale historical evolutionary forces. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 14:152-164.