Smooth softshell turtle

Description

The smooth softshell turtle (Apalone mutica) is a species of softshell turtle of the family Trionychidae. The species is endemic to North America. A. mutica is native to North America. It is distributed throughout the central and southcentral United States as its geographic range extends from western Pennsylvania to New Mexico and south to the Florida panhandle. Smooth softshells turtles inhabit the Mississippi River drainage from Louisiana up to North Dakota and Pennsylvania, as well as the Colorado, Brazos, Sabine, and Pearl, Alabama and Escambia river systems. Two subspecies of A. mutica have been identified. The midland smooth softshell, Apalone mutica mutica, is found throughout the central United States. The other subspecies, Apalone mutica calvata, is found ranging from Louisiana to the panhandle of Florida. Both subspecies of A. mutica are typically found in medium to large unpolluted rivers with moderate to fast currents, but are also found in standing water bodies like lakes, ponds and marshes. They prefer water with sand or mud bottoms, without rocky areas or dense vegetation. Sandbanks must also be present. The smooth softshell turtle has an anapsid skull. This kind of skull is present among the earliest reptiles and is retained by turtles today. The anapsid skull lacks openings behind the orbits. The smooth softshell turtle has a smooth, flexible and leather like carapace that is covered by skin instead of the hard scutes commonly observed in other turtle species. The plastron is light (white or gray) with no markings, and the underlying bones are visible. Smooth softshell turtles have a tubular snout with round nostrils. Currently, the smooth softshell turtle is considered a species of least conservation concern. However, the species is still facing some wide-ranged threats. These threats include habitat degradation, harvesting for food, and an increase in human disturbances at nesting sites. Additionally, due to their skin's high rate of gas exchange, they are very susceptible to polluted waters. As a result of all of these factors, the smooth softshell turtle has been listed as a species of special concern in Minnesota and Wisconsin.