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Citation: Midtgaard, Rune. RepFocus - A Survey of the Reptiles of the World. (www.repfocus.dk).
Latest update: December 31st, 2022.


Taxonomy of the family Trionychidae
Bibliography of the genus Apalone
Biodiversity of the family Trionychidae
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 Genus
Apalone
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Image		 North American Softshell Turtles
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Image		 Amerikanische Weichschildkröten
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Image		 Nordamerikanske Blødskildpadder, Nordamerikanske Trekloskildpadder
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1832Image Apalone Rafinesque (type species: Apalone hudsonica Rafinesque 1832)
1832Image Mesodeca Rafinesque (type species: Testudo bartrami Daudin 1801; syn. Fritz & Havas 2006)
1835Image Platypeltis Fitzinger (type species: Testudo ferox Schneider 1783; syn. Fritz & Havas 2006)
Image Glatypeltis Cope 1860 [lapsus for Platypeltis]
1869Image Callinia Gray (type species: Trionyx spiniferus Le Sueur 1827; syn. Fritz & Havas 2006)
1944Image Euamyda Stejneger (type species: Trionyx muticus Le Sueur 1827; syn. Fritz & Havas 2006)
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Contents: 4 species, of which 3 (75.0%) are endemic.
Endemism: 0% Image 100%
Remarks: Previously included in Trionyx (e.g., Wermuth & Mertens 1977).
Distribution: North America.
Reported from: Canada (Ontario, Quebec), Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas), USA (Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming). 		Image
Apalone spinifera
© Rune Midtgaard
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Image 		Apalone atra Image Image
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Image		 Black Spiny Softshell Turtle
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Image		 Schwarze Weichschildkröte
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Image		 Mexicansk Sort Blødskildpadde
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1960Image Trionyx ater Webb & Legler
Image Trionyx spinifer ater Morafka 1977
Image Apalone spinifera ater Groombridge 1988
Image Apalone ater David 1994
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Remarks: Many authors recognize atra as a separate species (e.g., Webb 1973; Flores-Villela 1993, Vetter 2004; Bonin, Devaux & Dupre 2006; Legler & Vogt 2013), although others retain it as a subspecies of spinifera (e.g., McCord & Joseph-Ouni 2005a; Fritz & Havas 2006; Lemos-Espinal & Smith 2007b; Cerdá-Ardura, Soberón-Mobarak, McGaugh & Vogt 2008). Vetter (2004) noted that the correct spelling of the specific epithet is atra rather than ater, due to the feminine grammatical gender of Apalone.
Distribution: Mexico (Coahuila). 		Image
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Image 		Apalone ferox Image Image
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Image		 Florida Softshell Turtle
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Image		 Florida-Weichschildkröte
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Image		 Florida-blødskildpadde
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1783Image Testudo ferox Schneider
Image Emydes ferox Brongniart 1805
Image Trionyx ferox Schweigger 1812
Image Amyda ferox Oken 1816
Image Aspidonectes ferox Wagler 1830
Image Platypeltis ferox Fitzinger 1843
Image Apalone ferox Meylan 1987
1795Image Testudo (ferox?) verrucosa Schoepff (Fritz & Havas 2006)
1801Image Testudo bartrami Daudin [substitute name for Testudo (ferox?) verrucosa Schoepff 1795] (Fritz & Havas 2006)
Image Chelys bartramii Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1809
Image Trionyx bartrami LeConte 1830
Image Mesodeca bartrami Rafinesque 1832
1809Image Trionyx carinatus Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire (Fritz & Havas 2006)
Image Aspidonectes carinatus Wagler 1830
1809Image Trionyx georgianus Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire [substitute name for Testudo ferox Schneider 1783] (Fritz & Havas 2006)
1809Image Trionyx georgicus Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire [substitute name for Testudo ferox Schneider 1783] (Fritz & Havas 2006)
1812Image Trionyx brongniarti Schweigger [substitute name for Trionyx carinatus Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire 1809] (Fritz & Havas 2006)
1835Image Trionyx harlani Bell in Harlan (Fritz & Havas 2006)
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Distribution: USA (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina). 		Image
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Apalone ferox
© Henrik Bringsøe
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Image 		Apalone mutica Image Image
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Image		 Smooth Softshell Turtle
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Image		 Glattrand-Weichschildkröte
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Image		 Glatrandet Blødskildpadde
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1827Image Trionyx muticus Le Sueur
Image Aspidonectes muticus Wagler 1830
Image Gymnopus muticus Duméril, Bibron & Duméril 1854
Image Amyda mutica Agassiz 1857
Image Apalone mutica Meylan 1987
1864Image Potamochelys microcephalus Gray (Fritz & Havas 2006)
Image Callinia microcephala Gray 1869
1959Image Trionyx muticus calvatus Webb
Image Apalone mutica calvata Ernst & Barbour 1989
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Other common names:
calvata: Gulf Coast Smooth Softshell Turtle
mutica: Midland Smooth Softshell Turtle
Extinct in: USA (Pennsylvania).
Distribution: USA (Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin). 		Image
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Image 		Apalone spinifera Image Image
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Image		 Spiny Softshell Turtle
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Image		 Dornrand-Weichschildkröte
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Image		 Tornet Blødskildpadde, Tornet Trekloskildpadde
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1827Image Trionyx spiniferus Le Sueur
Image Gymnopus spiniferus Duméril & Bibron 1835
Image Gymnopodus spiniferus Duméril 1856
Image Aspidonectes spinifer Agassiz 1857
Image Callinia spinifera Gray 1870
Image Platypeltis spinifer Baur 1893
Image Amyda spinifera Hurter 1911
Image Amyda ferox spinifera Neill 1951
Image Trionyx ferox spinifera Schmidt 1953
Image Apalone spinifera Meylan 1987
1827Image Trionyx ocellatus LeSueur (Fritz & Havas 2006)
1832Image Apalone hudsonica Rafinesque (Fritz & Havas 2006)
1839Image Trionyx annulifer Wied [substitute name for Trionyx ocellatus LeSueur 1827] (Fritz & Havas 2006)
1844Image Tyrse argus Gray (Fritz & Havas 2006)
Image Trionyx argus Gray 1856
1857Image Aspidonectes asper Agassiz
Image Platypeltis asper Baur 1893
Image Amyda spinifera aspera Stejneger & Barbour 1939
Image Amyda ferox aspera Neill 1951
Image Trionyx ferox aspera Schmidt 1953
Image Trionyx spinifer asper Schwartz 1956
Image Apalone spinifera asper Ernst & Barbour 1989
1857Image Aspidonectes emoryi Agassiz
Image Trionyx emoryi Strauch 1862
Image Platypeltis emoryii Baur 1893
Image Amyda emoryi Stejneger & Barbour 1917
Image Amyda ferox emoryi Neill 1951
Image Trionyx ferox emoryi Schmidt 1953
Image Trionyx spinifer emoryi Schwartz 1956
Image Apalone spinifera emoryi Ernst & Barbour 1989
1857Image Aspidonectes nuchalis Agassiz (Fritz & Havas 2006)
Image Platypeltis nuchalis Baur 1893
1865Image Gymnopus olivaceus Wied [substitute name for Trionyx ocellatus LeSueur 1827] (Fritz & Havas 2006)
1870Image Aspidonectes emyda Gray [lapsus for Aspidonectes emoryi Agassiz 1857] (Fritz & Havas 2006)
1870Image Aspidonectes georgii Gray [lapsus for Aspidonectes emoryi Agassiz 1857] (Fritz & Havas 2006)
1888Image Platypeltis agassizii Baur (Fritz & Havas 2006)
Image Trionyx agassizii Hay 1892
Image Pelodiscus agassizii Baur 1893
Image Aspidonectes agassizii Jordan 1899
Image Trionyx spiniferus agassizii Siebenrock 1924
Image Amyda agassizii Stejneger & Barbour 1939
Image Amyda ferox agassizii Neill 1951
Image Trionyx ferox agassizi Schmidt 1953
1948Image Amyda spinifera hartwegi Conant & Goin
Image Amyda ferox hartwegi Neill 1951
Image Trionyx ferox hartwegi Schmidt 1953
Image Trionyx spinifer hartwegi Schwartz 1956
Image Apalone spinifera hartwegi Ernst & Barbour 1989
1962Image Trionyx spinifer guadelupensis Webb
Image Apalone spinifera guadalupensis Ernst & Barbour 1989
1962Image Trionyx spinifer pallidus Webb
Image Trionyx pallidus Pritchard 1967
Image Apalone spinifera pallida Ernst & Barbour 1989
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Other common names:
aspera: Gulf Coast Spiny Softshell Turtle
emoryi: Texas Spiny Softshell Turtle
guadaloupensis: Guadaloupe Spiny Softshell Turtle
hartwegi: Western Spiny Softshell Turtle
pallida: Pallid Spiny Softshell Turtle
spinifera: Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle, Northern Spiny Softshell Turtle
Remarks: Previously included atra, and some authors still regard atra as a subspecies of spinifera. Records from Guerrero (Jiménez-Arcos, Santa Cruz-Padilla, Escalona-López, Casas-Andreu & Centenero-Alcalá 2009) and Puebla (García-Vázquez, Canseco-Márquez, Gutiérrez-Mayén & Trujano-Ortega 2009) are tentatively regarded as introductions.
Introduced to: Mexico (Baja California Norte, Guerrero, Jalisco, Morelos, Puebla, Sonora), USA (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Utah).
Distribution: Canada (Ontario, Quebec), Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas), USA (Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming). 		Image
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Apalone spinifera
© Rune Midtgaard