Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas

SPINY SOFTSHELL
Apalone spinifera (LeSueur 1827)
ā-pă-lō'-nē — spī-nĭ-fĕr-ă

Conservation Status:
State: None
Federal: None
NatureServe State: S5 - Secure
NatureServe National: N5 - Secure
NatureServe Global: G5 - Secure
CITES: Appendix III

A Pond Slider, basking on a Spiny Softshell, basking on a log in Shoal Creek, Cherokee County. © Jenn Rader.
An adult Spiny Softshell from Hamilton County, Kansas. Image © Travis W. Taggart.
An adult Spiny Softshell from Stafford County, Kansas. Image © Nick Stroot.
An adult Spiny Softshell from Cherokee County, Kansas. Image © Lisa Wehrly.
An adult Spiny Softshell from Kingman County, Kansas. Image © Ken Brunson.
An adult Spiny Softshell from Saline County. © by Brenda Gunder.
An adult Spiny Softshell from Lincoln County, Kansas. © Kevin Urbanek.
An adult Spiny Softshell from Kansas.Image by Suzanne L. Collins, CNAH.

Description:
 The Spiny Softshell has a soft flexible carapace, with a much-reduced plastron. There are small bumps or tubercles along the front edge of the carapace, which differentiates it from the Smooth Softshells. The carapace is patterned with spots or blotches. The limbs are patterned with dark streaks and spots, and a yellow line extends through the eye on each side of the head.
Adults normally 125-432 mm (5- 17 inches) in carapace length; largest specimen from Kansas: female (KU 197330) from Kingman County with a shell length of 523 mm (20 1/2 inches) and a weight of 15.9 kilograms (35 pounds), collected by Richard Keller and Ralph Massoth, Jr., on 10 September 1984; maximum carapace length throughout the range: 21¼ inches (Conant and Collins, 1998).
Distribution:
 This species is found in rivers, streams, and larger ponds and reservoirs statewide in Kansas but is least abundant on the Western Plains.
 (, Museum Voucher) (, Observation) (, Literature Record)
Open icons are questionable records; Click on a marker to view details. Export Google Earth (.kml)
  • Occurrence Summary:  
  • 296
    Records 
  • 166
    Museum Vouchers 
  • 130
    Other Observations 
Some county occurrences indicated below may be too imprecise to map above.
 County Breakdown: County Name (# occurrences):
 Allen (1); Anderson (2); Barber (9); Barton (6); Bourbon (1); Brown (2); Butler (8); Chase (2); Chautauqua (9); Cherokee (11); Cheyenne (2); Clark (3); Coffey (1); Comanche (5); Cowley (20); Crawford (2); Doniphan (5); Douglas (13); Edwards (1); Elk (2); Ellis (23); Ellsworth (1); Finney (2); Franklin (3); Greenwood (2); Hamilton (6); Harper (5); Harvey (2); Hodgeman (2); Jefferson (1); Kearney (2); Kingman (8); Kiowa (5); Labette (10); Lane (4); Linn (1); Logan (4); Lyon (1); Marion (1); Meade (4); Mitchell (1); Montgomery (12); Morris (1); Nemaha (1); Neosho (2); Ness (2); Osage (3); Osborne (1); Pawnee (7); Pratt (4); Reno (6); Rice (2); Riley (2); Rooks (4); Rush (1); Russell (4); Sedgwick (16); Seward (4); Shawnee (2); Stafford (4); Sumner (8); Trego (7); Unknown (3); Wabaunsee (2); Wallace (1); Wilson (2); Woodson (2);

Natural History:
 Spiny Softshells occur in a wide variety of aquatic habitats. They are predominantly carnivorous, eating a wide variety of prey including insects, amphibians, crayfish, tadpoles, and frogs. Both species of softshell turtle in Kansas are capable of remaining submerged for long periods of time due to the ability to remove oxygen from the water through membranes in the mouth.
The Spiny Softshell Turtle becomes sexually mature between ages 8 and 10. A large female turtle may live up to 50 years. The turtles mate in mid to late spring in deep water. The male will nudge the female's head while swimming and if she chooses to mate, the male will swim above the female without clasping her with his claws(this is unlike other turtles). The turtle quickly lays her eggs on a sunny sandbar or gravel bank in a flask-shaped cavity that she has dug close to the water. The turtle nests more than once during a single season. She can lay between 9 to 38 round calcareous-shelled eggs. The eggs hatch around August and September and hatch in the spring. Sex is not determined by the incubation temperature of the eggs.
Occurrence Activity:
 White dates indicate there is at least a single recorded occurrence on that date. The darker blue a date is, the greater the relative number of observations for that date.
Observation Type: (of recorded types)
Remarks:
 Many western Kansas streams have reduced or absent surface flow due to the extensive use of water for irrigation. It is unknown what effect this is having on populations of our most aquatic turtle species.
Cornelius Rogers removed representatives of this form from the Medicine River 1 mile south of Lake City, Barber County, Kansas, on May 27, 1934. It was also taken from a sand-bottomed prairie streamlet 6 miles east of Turon, Reno County, Kansas, on May 25, 1934; and from an algae-filled pool near a stream 2 miles northeast of Cheney, Sedgwick County, Kansas, on the same date.
Spiny Softshells may be taken year-round. The daily creel limit is eight turtles, single species or in combination (with Snapping Turtles and/or Smooth Softshells). The possession limit is three creel limits. A valid fishing license is required (unless exempt). Legal equipment: hand, hook and line, setline, hand dip net, seine, turtle trap, or gig.
Conant and Goin (1948) named UMMZ 95365 Amyda (=Apalone) spinifera hartwegi. An adult male; length of carapace, 168 mm.; collected at Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas, during the end of May 1945, by Robert Young, and secured through the courtesy of Charles E. Burt. Young's field notes state: "The stream it was caught in runs through the southeast part of town and is called the Canal. It was formerly the old Chisholm Creek Bed and runs northwest and southeast and empties into the Big Arkansas River at the south side of Wichita." Two additional specimens of A. s. hartwegi (UMMZ 95363-64) and a specimen of A. mutica (UMMZ 95362) were collected at the same time and place as the type. A. s. hartwegi is no longer recognized.
Bibliography:
1925 Linsdale, Jean M. Land Vertebrates of a Limited Area in Eastern Kansas. Thesis. University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 312pp.
1927 Linsdale, Jean M. Amphibians and reptiles of Doniphan County, Kansas. Copeia 1927(164):75-81
1928 Burt, Charles E. Some distributional and ecological records of Kansas reptiles. Transactions of the Academy of Science St. Louis 26():186-208
1934 Brennan, Lawrence A. A check list of the amphibians and reptiles of Ellis County, Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 37():189-191
1934 Burt, Charles E. and W. L. Hoyle. Additional records of the reptiles of the central prairie region of the United States. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 37():193-216
1935 Brennan, Lawrence A. Notes on the Distribution of Amphibia and Reptilia of Ellis County, Kansas. Thesis. Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas. 114pp.
1935 Burt, Charles E. Further records of the ecology and distribution of amphibians and reptiles in the middle west. American Midland Naturalist 16(3):311-366
1935 Burt, Charles E. and William L. Hoyle. Additional records of the reptiles of the central prairie region of the United States Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 37():193-216
1937 Brennan, Lawrence A. A study of the habitat of reptiles and amphibians of Ellis County, Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 40():341-347
1947 Smith, Hobart M. Kyphosis and other variations in soft-shelled turtles. University of Kansas Publications Museum of Natural History 1(6):117-124
1948 Conant, Roger and Coleman J. Goin. A new subspecies of soft-shelled turtle from the central United States, with comments on the application of the name Amyda. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (510):1-19
1949 Smith, Hobart M., C. William Nixon and Sherman A. Minton, Jr. Observations on constancy of color and pattern in soft-shelled turtles. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 52(1):92-98
1950 Smith, Hobart M. Handbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of Kansas. University of Kansas, Museum of Natural History, Miscellaneous Publication (2):336
1956 Clarke, Robert F. Identification of Kansas turtles. Kansas School Naturalist 2(4):1-3
1956 Clarke, Robert F. Turtles in Kansas. Kansas School Naturalist 2(4):1-15
1962 Gish, Charles D. The Herpetofauna of Ellis County, Kansas. Thesis. Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas. 34pp.
1974 Collins, Joseph T. Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Public Education Series (1):283 pp
1974 Karns, Daryl, Ray E. Ashton, Jr., and Thomas Swearingen. Illustrated Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas: An Identification Manual. University of Kansas Publications Museum of Natural History Public Education Series(2):viii + 18
1976 Capron, Marty and Jan Perry. A July weekend in Great Bend. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (14):1-2
1976 Grow, David. The KHS goes to Chetopa. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (13):2-3
1976 Rundquist, Eric M. Field checklist (of) amphibians and reptiles of Kansas. Kansas Herpetological Society, Lawrence. pp.
1977 Knight, James L. and Joseph T. Collins. The amphibians and reptiles of Cheyenne County, Kansas, Report Number 15. Kansas Biological Survey, Lawrence. 19pp.
1977 Miller, Larry L. Elementary students find large turtle. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (19):4
1977 Perry, Janice. KHS members achieve goal: Get Cottonmouth. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (21):3-4
1978 Curl, Richard L. Final Environmental Statement: Milford Lake Kansas operation and maintenance. US Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District. 158pp.
1978 Kern, Anita, Leslie Rice, and Michelle Warner. The turtles of Sumner County, Kansas. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (27):10-11
1980 Clarke, Robert F. Herptiles and fishes of the western Arkansas River in Kansas. United States Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 55pp.
1982 Collins, Joseph T. Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas. 2nd edition. University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Public Education Series (8):
1984 Collins, Joseph T. New records of fishes, amphibians and reptiles in Kansas for 1984. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (58):14-20
1984 Simmons, John E. Record turtle from Kansas. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (58):11-13
1986 Collins, Joseph T. New records of amphibians and reptiles in Kansas for 1985. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (63):4
1987 Capron, Marty. Selected observations on south-central Kansas turtles Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (67):13-15
1988 Collins, Joseph T. New records of amphibians and reptiles in Kansas for 1987. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (71):13-19
1989 Collins, Joseph T. New records of amphibians and reptiles in Kansas for 1988. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (75):15-18
1990 Collins, Joseph T. Maximum size records for Kansas amphibians and reptiles. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (81):13-17
1991 Collins, Joseph T. New records of amphibians and reptiles in Kansas for 1990. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (83):7-13
1991 Collins, Joseph T. Results of third Kansas herp count held during April-May 1991. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (85):9-13
1991 Conant, Roger and Joseph T. Collins. Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. 3rd ed. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. pp.
1991 Voorhees, William, J. Schnell, and David Edds. Bait preferences of semiaquatic turtles in southeast Kansas. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (85):14-13
1992 Collins, Joseph T. New records of amphibians and reptiles in Kansas for 1991. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (87):12-17
1992 Edds, David R. Population status and incidence of anatomical abnormalities in semiaquatic turtles of the Walnut and lower Arkansas river basins. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Pratt. 58pp.
1993 Collins, Joseph T. and Suzanne L. Collins. Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas. Third Edition. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Lawrence. 397pp.
1994 Collins, Joseph T. New records of amphibians and reptiles in Kansas for 1993. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (97):15-19
1995 Anderson, Lewis, Mark Shaw, Jeff Blodig, and Tom Walker. Report to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks: Herps encountered during REmap project, summer 1994. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (99):10-17
1996 Rakestraw, J. Spring herp counts: A Kansas tradition. Reptile & Amphibian Magazine (March-April):75-80
1996 Rundquist, Eric M. Results of the eighth annual KHS herp counts Held 1 April-31 May 1996. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (104):6-17
1997 Plummer, Michael V., Nathan E. Mills, and Steve L. Allen. Activity, habitat, and movement patterns of Softshell Turtles (Trionyx spiniferus) in a small stream. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 2(4):514-520
1997 Rundquist, Eric M. Addendum to 1997 KHS herp counts. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (109):14-15
1998 Conant, Roger and Joseph T. Collins. Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. 3rd ed, expanded. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. pp.
1998 Gamble, Jerre Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hartford, Kansas. 91pp.
1998 Rundquist, Eric M. Results of the tenth annual KHS herp counts for 1998, held 1 April-31 May. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (112):11-18
1999 Capron, Marty. A case of predation by Bald Eagles on Spiny Softshells in Kansas. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (117):15
1999 Rundquist, Eric M. Kansas Herpetological Society herp counts: A 10 year summary and evaluation. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (115):42962
2000 Van Doren, Mark D. and Curtis J. Schmidt. A herpetological survey of the Fort Larned National Historic Site, Pawnee County, Kansas. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (120):8-11
2001 Collins, Joseph T. New records of amphibians and reptiles in Kansas for 2000. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (124):6-8
2001 Rundquist, Eric M. Results of the thirteenth annual KHS herp counts for 2001, held 1 April-30 June. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (125):13-16
2001 Taggart, Travis W. The KHS 2001 spring field trip: A rainy rendezvous. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (124):12-14
2002 Kingsbury, Bruce and Joanna Gibson. Habitat Management Guidelines for Amphibians and Reptiles of the Midwest. Publication of Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, Address not given. 152pp.
2002 Riedle, J. Daren and A. Hynek. Amphibian and reptile inventory of the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant, Labette County, Kansas. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (2):18-20
2004 Delisle, Jennifer M. and William H. Busby Biological inventory for vertebrates at Fort Larned National Historic Site of the southern plains network. Natural Heritage Inventory, Kansas Biological Survey, Lawrence. 61pp.
2004 Schmidt, Curtis J. Geographic distribution: Apalone spinifera. Kansas. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (11):13
2004 Taggart, Travis W. Kansas Herpetological Society 2004 spring field trip. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (9):2
2005 Taggart, Travis W., Curtis J. Schmidt, and Richard S. Hayes. Geographic distribution: Apalone spinifera. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (13):10
2006 Taggart, Travis W. Distribution and status of Kansas herpetofauna in need of information. State Wildlife Grant T7. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Pratt. vii + 106pp.
2007 Taggart, Travis W., Joseph T. Collins, and Curtis J. Schmidt. Estimates of amphibian, reptile, and turtle mortality if Phostoxin is applied to 10,000 acres of prairie dog burrows in Logan County, Kansas. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Pratt. 5pp.
2008 Taggart, Travis W. KHS 2008 spring field trip. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (25):2-3
2010 Collins, Joseph T., Suzanne L. Collins, and Travis W. Taggart. Amphibians, Reptiles, and Turtles of Kansas Eagle Mountain Publishing., Provo, Utah. 400pp.
2010 Murrow, Daniel G. Kansas Herpetological Society spring field trip. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (33):2-3
2011 Taggart, Travis W. Kansas Herpetological Society 2011 spring field trip to beheld in Chautauqua County. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (37):5-7
2011 Taggart, Travis W. Results of the KHS Spring Field Trip to Chautauqua County. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (38):2-4
2012 Rohweder, Megan R. Spatial conservation prioritization of Kansas for terrestrial vertebrates. Thesis. Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas. 151pp.
2013 Bass, Neil The Missouri River Fish and Wildlife Mitigation Project: For the river, for you, and for herps. Collinsorum 2(1/2):10-11
2013 Mardis, Dexter and Kevin Scott. 2013 Kansas Herpetofaunal Counts. Collinsorum 2(3/4):7
2013 Taggart, Travis W. KHS 2012 Spring Field Trip to Bourbon County State Lake. Collinsorum 2(3/4):3
2013 Taggart, Travis W. KHS 2012 Summer Field Trip to Meade County State Park. Collinsorum 2(3/4):3
2013 Taggart, Travis W. KHS 2013 Fall Field Trip to Butler County State Lake. Collinsorum 2(3/4):6
2013 Taggart, Travis W. KHS 2013 Spring Field Trip to Schermerhorn Park, Cherokee County. Collinsorum 2(3/4):4
2013 Taggart, Travis W. KHS 2013 Summer Field Trip to Coldwater Lake, Comanche County. Collinsorum 2(3/4):5
2014 Taggart, Travis W. Results of the 2014 KHS Fall Field Trip to Woodson County. Collinsorum 3(2-4):12
2014 Taggart, Travis W. Results of the 2014 KHS Spring Field Trip to Barber County Collinsorum 3(2-4):11
2015 Bass, Neil. Herpetological (Frog and Turtle) Inventories along the Missouri River in Kansas. Collinsorum 4(1):5-9
2015 Seim, Jeffery Population Structure and Habitat Association of Aquatic Testudines in Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. Thesis. Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas. 66pp.
2015 Taggart, Travis W. Spring Field Trip to the Greenhorn Limestone of Russell County. Collinsorum 4(3):2
2015 Taggart, Travis W. Summer Field Trip In The Harvey County Sandhills. Collinsorum 4(3):3
2016 Powell, Robert, Roger Conant, and Joseph T. Collins. Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston. 494pp.
2016 Taggart, Travis W. Results of the KHS ‘Fall’ field trip to Barber County. Collinsorum 5(2-3):6-7
2016 Taggart, Travis W. Results of the KHS Summer field trip to Caney River, Chautauqua County, Kansas. Collinsorum 5(2-3):4-5
2017 Taggart, Travis W. and J. Daren Riedle. A Pocket Guide to Kansas Amphibians, Turtles and Lizards. Great Plains Nature Center, Wichita, Kansas. 69pp.
2018 Fischer, Annie. Species profile: Spiny Softshell Turtle Kansas Wildlife & Parks Magazine (July-August):44
2020 Riedle, J. Daren. Revisiting Kansas Herpetological Society field trip and Herp Count data: Distributional patterns and trend data of Kansas amphibians and reptiles. Collinsorum 9(1):7-16
Account Last Updated:
 8/28/2020 7:09:41 AM


Travis W. Taggart © 1999-2020 — w/ Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University