Apalone

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Apalone
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous - recent, 84.9–0  Ma
Apalone spinifera.jpg
Spiny softshell turtle, Apalone spinifera
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
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
PlatyrettisKirsch, 1944 (ex errore) [1]

Contents

Apalone is a genus of turtles in the family Trionychidae. The three species of Apalone are native to freshwater habitats in North America; they are the only living softshell turtles from the Americas (other American softshell turtles are only known from fossil remains). [2]

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, [3] assigned to North American species of the genus Trionyx . 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. [4]

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. [5]

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

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emydidae</span> Family of turtles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trionychidae</span> Family of turtles

The Trionychidae are a taxonomic family of a number of turtle genera, commonly known as softshell turtles. The family was erected by Leopold Fitzinger in 1826. Softshells include some of the world's largest freshwater turtles, though many can adapt to living in highly brackish areas. Members of this family occur in Africa, Asia, and North America, with extinct species known from Australia. Most species have traditionally been included in the genus Trionyx, but the vast majority have since been moved to other genera. Among these are the North American Apalone softshells that were placed in Trionyx until 1987.

<i>Staurotypus</i> Genus of turtles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wattle-necked softshell turtle</span> Species of turtle

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trionychia</span> Superfamily of turtles

Trionychia is a superfamily of turtles which encompasses the species that are commonly referred to as softshelled turtles as well as some others. The group contains two families, Carettochelyidae, which has only one living species, the pig-nosed turtle native to New Guinea and Northern Australia, and Trionychidae, the softshelled turtles, containing numerous species native to Asia, North America and Africa. These families likely diverged during the late Jurassic. The oldest known stem-trionychian is Sinaspideretes from the Late Jurassic of China.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spiny softshell turtle</span> Species of turtle

The spiny softshell turtle is a species of softshell turtle, one of the largest freshwater turtle species in North America. Both the common name, spiny softshell, and the specific name, spinifera (spine-bearing), refer to the spiny, cone-like projections on the leading edge of the carapace, which are not scutes (scales).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pallid spiny softshell turtle</span> Subspecies of turtle

The pallid spiny softshell turtle is a subspecies of spiny softshell turtle native to the U.S. states of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas. It was first described by Robert G. Webb in 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern spiny softshell turtle</span> Subspecies of turtle

The northern spiny softshell turtle is a subspecies of soft-shelled turtle in the family Trionychidae. The subspecies is native to the United States and can be found from Montana at the western edge of its range to Vermont and Quebec on the eastern edge. Introduced populations have also been found in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Arizona, and Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guadalupe spiny softshell turtle</span> Subspecies of turtle

The Guadalupe spiny softshell turtle is a subspecies of soft-shelled turtle native to the United States, in the state of Texas. Their range is limited only to the Nueces and Guadalupe rivers, and their immediate tributaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas spiny softshell turtle</span> Subspecies of turtle

The Texas spiny softshell turtle is a subspecies of the spiny softshell turtle in the family Trionychidae. The subspecies is native to the southwestern United States and adjacent northeastern Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf Coast spiny softshell turtle</span> Subspecies of turtle

The Gulf Coast spiny softshell turtle, a subspecies in the Trionychidae family of softshell turtles, is endemic to the south-eastern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida softshell turtle</span> Species of turtle

The Florida softshell turtle is a species of turtle in the family Trionychidae. The species is native to the Southeastern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuatro Cienegas softshell</span> Subspecies of turtle

The Cuatro Ciénegas softshell, also called the black spiny softshell, is a subspecies of the spiny softshell turtle in the family Trionychidae. It is found only in the Cuatro Ciénegas Basin in the Mexican state of Coahuila and it is considered critically endangered by the IUCN. The subspecies, along with its parent species, was formerly classified in the genus Trionyx.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giant musk turtle</span> Species of turtle

The giant musk turtle, also known commonly as the Chiapas giant musk turtle or the Mexican giant musk turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is found in Central America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican musk turtle</span> Species of turtle

The Mexican musk turtle, also known commonly as the giant musk turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species occurs in Central America and Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smooth softshell turtle</span> Species of turtle

The smooth softshell turtle is a species of softshell turtle of the family Trionychidae. This freshwater turtle is endemic to the United States where it inhabits the Mississippi River system and other river basins emptying into the Gulf of Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euphrates softshell turtle</span> Species of turtle

The Euphrates softshell turtle, also known as the Mesopotamian softshell turtle, is a species of softshell turtle in the family Trionychidae. It is found throughout much of the Euphrates–Tigris river basin in Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Khūzestān Province of Iran. Historically it has also been reported from Israel, but this likely involves confusion with the very similar Trionyx triunguis.

<i>Drazinderetes</i> Extinct genus of turtles

Drazinderetes is a large bodied genus of soft shell turtle from the Middle Eocene Drazinda Formation of Pakistan. Its presence in the shallow marine deposits of the Drazinda Formation suggests that Drazinderetes may have been a partially or fully marine animal. Indetermined trionychine remains from the same formation may suggest that Drazinderetes could have been among the largest known turtles, with one entoplastron indicating a potential length of 1.5 to 2.1 meters. Drazinderetes currently consists of only a single species: Drazinderetes tethyensis.

References

  1. Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). Checklist of Chelonians of the World. Dresden: Museum für Tierkunde Dresden.
  2. Vitek, Natasha S.; Joyce, Walter G. (2015). "A Review of the Fossil Record of New World Turtles of the Clade Pan-Trionychidae". Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History. 56 (2): 185–244. doi:10.3374/014.056.0204. ISSN   0079-032X. S2CID   86006102.
  3. Meylan PA (1987). "The phylogenetic relationships of soft-shelled turtles (family Trionychidae)". Bull. American Mus. Nat. Hist.186: 1-101.
  4. Smith HM, Brodie ED Jr (1982). Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. ISBN   0-307-13666-3. (SOFTSHELL TURTLES—family Trionychidae, p. 30).
  5. "Apalone ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

Further reading