NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Apalone spinifera (Lesueur, 1827)

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.

Photo description and credit info: Full shot of a spiny softshell turtle swimming in the water with white background by Sam Stukel, USFWS
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters · Public domain · Image source
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Open encyclopedia reference

The spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera) is a species of softshell turtle, one of the largest freshwater turtle species in North America. Both the common name, spiny softshell, and the specific name, spinifera (spine-bearing), refer to the spiny, cone-like projections on the leading edge of the carapace, which are not scutes (scales).

Wikipedia contributors, Spiny softshell turtle; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T14:19:21.035931+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name: Apalone spinifera (Lesueur, 1827)
Name authority: (Lesueur, 1827)
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 spinifera (Lesueur, 1827)

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
Florida Softshell TurtleApalone ferox (Schneider, 1783)	TrionychidaeChordata	Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Smooth Softshelled TurtleApalone mutica (Lesueur, 1827)	TrionychidaeChordata	Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied

Browse 25 records assigned to Trionychidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Recorded name	Source status
Aspidonectes georgii Gray, 1870 Gray, 1870	synonym
Aspidonectes nuchalis Agassiz, 1857 Agassiz, 1857	synonym
Gymnopus olivaceus Wied, 1865 Wied, 1865	synonym
Trionyx annulifer Wied, 1839 Wied, 1839	synonym
Trionyx ocellatus Lesueur, 1827 Lesueur, 1827	synonym
Aspidonectes emyda Gray, 1870 Gray, 1870	synonym
Trionyx spinifer guadalupensis Webb, 1962 Webb, 1962	synonym
Trionyx ater Webb & Legler, 1960 Webb & Legler, 1960	synonym
Trionyx ocellatus Le Sueur, 1827 Le Sueur, 1827	synonym
Amyda spinifera hartwegi Conant & Goin, 1948 Conant & Goin, 1948	synonym
Apalone hudsonica Rafinesque, 1832 Rafinesque, 1832	synonym
Aspidonectes emoryi Agassiz, 1857 Agassiz, 1857	synonym
Aspidonectes asper Agassiz, 1857 Agassiz, 1857	synonym
Aspidonectes californiana Rivers, 1889 Rivers, 1889	synonym
Platypeltis agassizii Baur, 1888 Baur, 1888	synonym
Trionyx spiniferus Lesueur, 1827 Lesueur, 1827	synonym
Tyrse argus Gray, 1844 Gray, 1844	synonym
Trionyx spinifer pallidus Webb, 1962 Webb, 1962	synonym

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

USA (NW Vermont, W New York, W Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Nebraska, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, NW Florida, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arizona, SE California, S Nevada, SW Utah, Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, New Jersey, Colorado),

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=spinifera 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:F6QR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.