Range in California: Red
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Not native to California - An introduced species.
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Adult, Imperial County. © Gary Nafis. Specimen courtesy of Jeff Lemm & Rick Sturm |
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Adult female (left) and male (right)
Brewster County, Texas © Dick Bartlett |
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Captive adult. © Gary Nafis. Specimen courtesy of Tim Burkhardt |
Adult resting just below the surface of an irrigation canal, Imperial County |
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Habitat, Colorado River, Imperial County |
Habitat, Imperial County lake |
Habitat, Colorado River, Imperial County |
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Habitat, San Pablo Reservoir, Contra Costa County
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Habitat, Irrigation canal, Imperial County |
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| Description |
| Size |
| 5 - 21 inches in shell length (12.7 - 53.3 cm). (Stebbins 2003) |
| Appearance |
A very flat turtle with a rounded, leathery-skinned, flexible, shell which is keelless and unhinged. The snout is long with open nostrils on the end. The limbs are flat with broadly-webbed feet.
Color is olive, brown or grayish, sometimes with dark markings which fade with age. The head and limbs are olive to gray with dark markings. Two dark-bordered light stripes mark each side of the head, extending from the back of the eye and from the back of the angle of the jaw. The shell has a yellowish border with a dark line around it. The carapace is rimmed with pale coloring which is four to five times wider on the rear than on the front and sides. There are pale conical spiny projections (tubercles) along the rear third of the shell. The plastron is yellowish and unmarked.
Males are smaller than females with a thick tail that extends beyond the carapace, and their pattern is more contrasted than that of females. The shell has a sandpaper-like texture. Females become more mottled with age and have a smoother shell. The shell of a juvenile often has profuse dark spotting. |
| Behavior and Natural History |
Diurnal. Thoroughly aquatic, but basks out of the water. Active most of the year, becoming dormant in cold temperatures.
Often remains hidden underwater with the snout extended up to the surface to breathe. Difficult to approach, moves very fast on land and in the water. Capable of scratching vigorously and producing a painful bite if handled. |
| Diet |
| Predominately carniverous. Eat insects, crayfish, worms, snails, fish, frogs, tadpoles, and reptiles. Both actively hunts its prey and sits still to ambush passing prey. May also scavenge its food. |
| Reproduction |
| From May to August, females crawl onto land to lay 1 or 2 clutches of 3 - 39 eggs on exposed, sunny, sandy banks. Hatchlings emerge from August to October. |
| Range |
Introduced into the lower Colorado river, this turtle has extended its range into the Imperial Valley to the Salton Sea in Imperial and Riverside Counties. It has also been introduced into San Pablo reservoir in Contra Costa County, Lower Otay Reservoir and elsewhere in San Diego County, the Santa Ana River, and the San Gabriel River in Los Angeles County.
Native to the Rio Grande and Pecos River drainages in Texas and New Mexico, and the lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas, and northern Mexico. Also introduced in parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Baja California. |
| Habitat |
| In California, it is found in permanent, not temporary, rivers, agricultural canals, drainage ditches, artificial lakes and ponds. Prefers still water with a muddy, sandy, or gravelly bottom, and aquatic vegetation. |
| Taxonomic Notes |
Six subspecies are recognized north of Mexico.
Formerly classified in the genus Trionyx (Trionyx spinifera emoryi) |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| None |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Trionychidae |
Softshell Turtles |
| Genus |
Apalone |
North American Softshells |
| Species |
spinifera |
Spiny Softshell |
Subspecies
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emoryi |
Texas Spiny Softshell |
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Original Description |
Apalone spinifera - (Le Sueur, 1827) - Mem. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, Vol. 15, p. 258, pl. 6
Apalone spinifera emoryi - (Agassiz, 1857) - Contr. Nat. Hist. U. S., Vol. 1, p. 407; Vol. 2, pl. 6, figs. 4 and 5
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Apalone - Greek - apalos - soft, tender - referring to the soft shell
spinifera - Latin - spina- thorn or spine, and -ifer - bearing - refers to the spine-like tubercules along front edge of upper shell
emoryi - honors Emory, William H.
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Trionyx spiiferus emoryi
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Related or Similar California Turtles |
No other turtles, native or introduced, are similar in appearance to the Texas Spiny Softshell. However, I have seen softshell turtles in a park lake in San Francisco, (possibly an Asian softshell species) which were probably imported for the Asian food market, then released.
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
Resources List
Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Behler, John L., & F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Carr, Archie. Handbook of Turtles: The Turtles of the United States, Canada, and Baja California. Cornell University Press, 1969.
Ernst, Carl H., Roger W. Barbour, & Jeffrey E. Lovich. Turtles of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution 1994.
Lemm, Jeffrey. Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of the San Diego Region (California Natural History Guides). University of California Press, 2006.
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The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published several times each year by the California Department of Fish and Game.
This turtle is not included on the Special Animals List, which indicates that there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
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| California Department of Fish and Game |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
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| USDA Forest Service |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
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World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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