THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY


Reptilia    Testudines    Trionychidae  

Spiny Softshell
Apalone spinifera (LeSueur, 1827)

Current SSAR Comments:
There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2024.02.03.16.10.20)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 3.85 MB

First instance(s) of published English names:
Fierce Tortoise (Testudo ferox: Shaw, George. 1802. General zoology or systematic natural history. Volume 3. G. Kearsley, London, U. K.. 615pp.); Soft-shelled Turtle (Trionyx ferox: De Kay, James E. 1842. Zoology of New-York, or, The New-York Fauna: Comprising Detailed Descriptions of All the Animals Hitherto Observed within the State of New-York, with Brief Notices of those Occasionally Found Near its Borders, and Accompanied by Appropriate Illustrations. Volume 1, Part 3 (Reptiles and Amphibians). W. & A. White & J. Visscher, Albany, New York. pp.); Fierce Tortoise (Trionyx ferox: Royal College of Surgeons of England. 1859. Descriptive catalogue of the specimens of natural history in spirit contained in the Museum of the Royal college of surgeons of England. Vertebrata: Pisces, Reptilia, Aves, Mammalia. Taylor and Francis, London, England. pp.); Common Soft-shelled Turtle (Aspidonectes spinifer: Jordan, David Starr. 1876. Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States: Including the District East of the Mississippi River, and North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive of Marine Species. Jansen, McClurg, and Company, Chicago, Illinois.. 342pp.); Cumberland Turtle (Aspidonectes spinifer: Jordan, David Starr. 1876. Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States: Including the District East of the Mississippi River, and North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive of Marine Species. Jansen, McClurg, and Company, Chicago, Illinois.. 342pp.); Cumberland Turtle (Aspidonectes nuchalis: Jordan, David S. 1878. Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States: Including the District East of the Mississippi River, and North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive of Marine Species. Second Edition, Revised, and Enlarged. Jansen, McClurg & Company, Chicago. pp.); Common Soft-shelled Turtle (Aspidonectes spinifer: Jordan, David S. 1878. Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States: Including the District East of the Mississippi River, and North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive of Marine Species. Second Edition, Revised, and Enlarged. Jansen, McClurg & Company, Chicago. pp.); Rough Soft-shelled Turtle (Aspidonectes asper: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Emory's Soft-shelled Turtle (Aspidonectes emoryi: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Soft-shelled Turtle (Aspidonectes ferox: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Agassiz's Soft-Shelled Turtle (Aspidonectes nuchalis: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Spiny Soft-shelled Turtle (Aspidonectes spinifer: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Soft-shelled Turtle (Aspidonectes spinifer: Garman, H. 1892. A synopsis of the reptiles and amphibians of Illinois. Illinois Laboratory of Natural History Bulletin 3():215-403); Leather-back (Aspidonectes spinifer: Garman, H. 1892. A synopsis of the reptiles and amphibians of Illinois. Illinois Laboratory of Natural History Bulletin 3():215-403); Agassiz' Soft-shelled Turtle (Trionyx agassizii: Hay, Oliver P. 1892. Batrachians and Reptiles of the State of Indiana. Pages 409-624 in 17th Annual Report of the Indiana Department of Geology and Natural Resources, William B. Burford, Printer and Binder, Indianapolis, Indiana. pp.); Spiny Soft-shelled Turtle (Trionyx spiniferus: Hay, Oliver P. 1892. Batrachians and Reptiles of the State of Indiana. Pages 409-624 in 17th Annual Report of the Indiana Department of Geology and Natural Resources, William B. Burford, Printer and Binder, Indianapolis, Indiana. pp.); Southern Soft-shelled Turtle (Aspidonectes ferox: Rhoads, Samuel N. 1895. Contributions to the zoology of Tennessee. No. 1, Reptiles and amphibians. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 47():376-407); Tennessee Soft-shelled Turtle (Aspidonectes nuchalis: Rhoads, Samuel N. 1895. Contributions to the zoology of Tennessee. No. 1, Reptiles and amphibians. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 47():376-407); Soft Shelled Turtle (Aspidoneotes spiniferus: Rhoads, Samuel N. 1895. Contributions to the zoology of Tennessee. No. 1, Reptiles and amphibians. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 47():376-407); Soft-shelled Turtle (Aspidonectus asper: Beyer, George. 1900. Louisana herpetology. Proceedings of the Louisiana Society of Naturalists 1897-1899():24-46); Emory's Soft-shelled Turtle (Aspidonectus emoryi: Beyer, George. 1900. Louisana herpetology. Proceedings of the Louisiana Society of Naturalists 1897-1899():24-46); Common Soft Shelled Turtle (Aspidonectes spinifer: Fowler, Henry W. 1907. The amphibians and reptiles of New Jersey. MacCrellish and Quigley, Trenton, N. J.. 29-250pp.); Spiny Soft-shelled Turtle (Amyda spinifera: Hurter, Julius. 1911. Herpetology of Missouri. Transactions of the Academy of Science St. Louis 20(5):59-274); Emory's Soft-shell Turtle (Amyda emoryi: Strecker, John K. 1922. An annotated catalogue of the amphibians and reptiles of Bexar County, Texas. Bulletin Scientific Society of San Antonio (4):1-31); Soft-shelled Turtle (Apalone ferox: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Agassiz's Soft-shelled Turtle (Trionyx ferox agassizi: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Southern Spiny Soft-shelled Turtle (Trionyx ferox aspera: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Soft-shelled Turtle (Trionyx ferox aspera: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Gulf Coast Soft-shelled Turtle (Trionyx ferox aspera: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Emory's Soft-shelled Turtle (Trionyx ferox emoryi: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Texas Soft-shelled Turtle (Trionyx ferox emoryi: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Western Soft-shelled Turtle (Trionyx ferox hartwegi: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Western Spiny Soft-shelled Turtle (Trionyx ferox hartwegi: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Eastern Spiny Soft-shelled Turtle (Trionyx ferox spinifera: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Midland Soft-shelled Turtle (Trionyx ferox spinifera: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Pertinent LIterature:
1827 Le Sueur, Ch. A. Note sur deux especes de tortues, du genre Trionyx de M. Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire. [Note on two species of turtles, of the genus Trionyx by M. Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire.] Museum of Natural History Paris 15():257- 268
1948 Conant, Roger and Coleman J. Goin. A new subspecies of soft-shelled turtle from the central United States, with comments on the application of the name Amyda. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (510):1-19

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Friday 24 January 2025 00:41 CT