NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Florida Softshell Turtle
Apalone ferox (Schneider, 1783)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Florida Soft-shell Turtle on land, as seen in Everglades National Park, Homestead, Florida, USA.
Johnskate17 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Florida softshell turtle (Apalone ferox) is a species of turtle in the family Trionychidae. The species is native to the Southeastern United States. The maximum recorded lifespan of a Florida softshell turtle is 26 years.
Wikipedia contributors, Florida softshell turtle; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:49:46.592301+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Apalone ferox (Schneider, 1783)
- Name authority
- (Schneider, 1783)
- Common name
- Florida Softshell Turtle
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Testudines
- Family
- Trionychidae
- Genus
- Apalone
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderTestudines Batsch, 1788
- suborderCryptodira
- superfamilyTrionychoidea
- familyTrionychidae
- genusApalone
- speciesApalone ferox (Schneider, 1783)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Apalone. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Smooth Softshelled TurtleApalone mutica (Lesueur, 1827) | TrionychidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Apalone spinifera (Lesueur, 1827) | TrionychidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Testudo ferox Schneider, 1783 Schneider, 1783 | synonym |
| Trionyx carinatus Geoffroy, 1809 Geoffroy, 1809 | synonym |
| Trionyx harlani Bell, 1835 Bell, 1835 | synonym |
| Trionyx georgianus Geoffroy, 1809 Geoffroy, 1809 | synonym |
| Trionyx brogniarti Schweigger, 1812 Schweigger, 1812 | synonym |
| Testudo mollis Lacépède, 1788 Lacépède, 1788 | synonym |
| Testudo ferox verrucosa Schoepff, 1795 Schoepff, 1795 | synonym |
| Testudo bartrami Daudin, 1802 Daudin, 1802 | synonym |
| Trionyx georgicus Geoffroy, 1809 Geoffroy, 1809 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Apalone&species=ferox Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:F6QN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.