Florida Softshell Turtle

The Florida softshell turtle, Apalone ferox, is the largest softshell turtle in Florida and North America, a freshwater species of the family Trionychidae native to the southeastern United States, with carapace lengths ranging from about 15 to 76 centimeters. It has a flattened, pancake-like cartilaginous shell covered in leathery skin, a long neck, an elongated snorkel-like snout, and large webbed feet with three claws each, colored olive green to dark brown above and white or cream below. Females grow far larger than males, up to three to five times their size, and the species occupies nearly every freshwater habitat within its range, including swamps, lakes, marshes and rivers, tolerating some brackish water as well.