Apalone

Apalone
Spiny softshell turtle, Apalone spinifera
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Trionychidae
Subfamily:	Trionychinae
Genus:	Apalone Rafinesque, 1832
Species
3 recognized species, see article.
Synonyms
Mesodeca Rafinesque, 1832 Platypeltis Fitzinger, 1835 Glalypeltis Cope, 1860 (ex errore) Callinia Gray, 1869 Euamyda Stejneger, 1944 Platyrettis Kirsch, 1944 (ex errore)[1]

Apalone is a genus of turtles in the family Trionychidae. Species of Apalone are native to North America.

Geographic range

Most Apalone species are restricted to the United States, though the range of the spiny softshell, A. spinifera, extends into southern Canada and northern Mexico.

Taxonomy

Apalone is a fairly new classification, resurrected by Meylan in 1987,^[2] assigned to North American species of the genus Trionyx, though they are still listed as Trionyx in some texts. (Trionyx now refers specifically to certain softshell species found mainly in Africa.)

Sexual dimorphism

Turtles of the genus Apalone exhibit marked sexual dimorphism. In carapace length, females grow to about twice the size of males. In males, the claws on the front feet are longer than those on the back feet, but in females, the claws on the back feet are longer. In males, the stout tail extends well beyond the posterior edge of the carapace, but in females, the relatively thinner tail barely reaches the edge of the carapace.^[3]

Behavior

Apalone turtles are fast swimmers that chase down their prey in water. They feed mainly on fish. They also like the comfort of sand as their bedding.

Species

The following three species are recognized as being valid.^[4]

• Apalone ferox (Schneider, 1783) – Florida softshell turtle - South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama
• Apalone mutica (Lesueur, 1827) – smooth softshell turtle - United States, east of the Rocky Mountains
• Apalone spinifera (Lesueur, 1827) – spiny softshell turtle - Canada (southern Ontario and Quebec), most of the United States, and northeastern Mexico.

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Apalone.

References

Further reading

• Rafinesque, C.S. 1832. Description of two new genera of Soft Shell Turtles of North America. Atlantic Journal and Friend of Knowledge 1: 64-65. (Apalone, new genus, p. 64).

External links

• Genus Apolone at The Reptile Database
• Tortoise.org Apalone entry
• Spiny Softshell Turtle - Apalone spinifera Species account from the Iowa Reptile and Amphibian Field Guide

Turtle family Trionychidae
Genus	Species of the subfamily Cyclanorbinae
Cyclanorbis	Nubian flapshell turtle Senegal flapshell turtle
Cycloderma	Aubry's flapshell turtle Zambezi flapshell turtle
Lissemys	Burmese flapshell turtle Indian flapshell turtle Sri Lankan flapshell turtle
	Species of the subfamily Trionychinae
Amyda	Asiatic softshell turtle
Apalone	Florida softshell turtle Smooth softshell turtle Spiny softshell turtle
Chitra	Asian narrow-headed softshell turtle Burmese narrow-headed softshell turtle Indian narrow-headed softshell turtle
Dogania	Malayan softshell turtle
Nilssonia	Black softshell turtle Burmese peacock softshell Indian softshell turtle Indian peacock softshell turtle Leith's softshell turtle
Palea	Wattle-necked softshell turtle
Pelochelys	Cantor's giant softshell turtle New Guinea giant softshell turtle Northern New Guinea giant softshell turtle
Pelodiscus	Chinese softshell turtle Hunan softshell turtle Lesser Chinese softshell turtle Northern Chinese softshell turtle
Rafetus	Euphrates softshell turtle Yangtze giant softshell turtle
Trionyx	African softshell turtle
Phylogenetic arrangement based on turtles of the world 2011 update: annotated checklist.