| Smooth softshell turtle | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Cryptodira |
| Family: | Trionychidae |
| Genus: | Apalone |
| Species: | A. mutica |
| Binomial name | |
| Apalone mutica (Le Sueur, 1827)[1] |
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| Synonyms | |
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Trionyx muticus Le Sueur, 1827 |
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The smooth softshell turtle (Apalone mutica) is a softshell turtle of the family Trionychidae.
Contents |
It lives mainly in the Mississippi River drainage including the Ohio River and the lower Allegheny River.
The smooth softshell turtle is usually brown or olive colored, often with darker dots or dashes. It is the only softshell without ridges in nostrils. Females are 18-35.6 cm (7-14 inches); males, 12.5-17.8 cm (5-7 inches).
From May to July the females lay bunches of 3-28 eggs about 100 m from water in sandy areas.[2]
Apalone mutica is sympatric with the spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera) over much of its range.[3]
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