Herpetofauna - One Life's List

Western Spiny Softshell Turtle
Apalone spinifera hartwegi

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.

 
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