Herpetofauna: One Life's List

Apalone spinifera hartwegii
Western Spiny Softshell Turtle

Jacks Fork River, Missouri Ozarks
May 29, 1988

It's not hard to spot Softshells tooling along the bottoms of clear Ozark streams, and I was able to spot a dozen or more in this fashion during a two-day float trip.  The turtle pictured here was photographed at Mermet Lake in southern Illinois - one of the largest Softshells I've ever seen.