Description: The Northern spiny soft-shell turtles (A. spinifera spinifera) have two black bordered yellow stripes that travel along the neck and do not connect. The plastron is whitish or yellow with bones visible underneath. They have claws and their feet are webbed for swimming. The body is olive or tan with black speckles and a dark rim around the edge of their carapace.
Habitat:A. spinifera is an aquatic turtle species that prefers highly-oxygenated rivers, but also inhabits creeks, canals, impoundments, lakes, and oxbows; especially those with a soft sand or mud bottoms. Sandbars or mud flats are important habitats and are used for basking and nesting. This species is often seen openly basking on logs or floating along the surface but will also spend some time buried in soft sediment with only the head protruding. While submerged, this species may supplement respiration through gas exchange across the skin and can remain submerged for upwards of 20 minutes.
Range: The Northern Spiny Softshell Turtle (A. spinifera spinifera) occupies the ranges from western New York to Wisconsin south to the Tennessee River, with a population in the lower part of Canada, by the Ottawa River. It also occupies territory that ranges from Minnesota to Arkansas west to south east Wyoming, eastern Colorado, and north eastern New Mexico, with a large population in the Missouri River drainage in Montana.
Diet: Spiny softshell are carnivorous, known to consume fish, carrion, crayfish, insects, and a wide variety of invertebrates.
Reproduction: Male spiny softshell mature around a 4.5 ounce body weight while females mature around 15 kg. Females lay 4 to 39 eggs per clutch, with an average of 12 to 18 eggs. Nesting occurs during late spring and throughout summer, nests are excavated in soil exposed to sunlight, often in close proximity to water on nearby sand or gravel bars, however, nests can be placed further away from water depending on the availability of ideal nesting habita. Incubation lasts 2 to 3 months (dependent on ambient conditions), and unlike the majority of other turtles, the sex of hatchlings is determined genetically rather than by temperature, producing clutches with similar proportions of male and female hatchlings. Female spiny softshell become sexually mature in 4 to 5 years.
Status: Because A. spinifera respire aquatically with pharyngeal gill slits and cloaca, they are vulnerable to Rotenone, a chemical that is used to kill unwanted fish. Rotenone hinders oxygen absorption and many soft shell turtles are now gone from Rotenone contaminated waters in the Great Lakes. Habitat fragmentation and shoreline development continues to threaten nesting sites. Along with other turtles, A. spinifera is hunted or shot for "fun" and human consumption. Eggs, hatchlings, and juveniles are threatened by various human activities and vulnerable to predators such as raccoons, foxes, and skunks, all of which thrive in areas of human development. They are not listed as endangered, vulnerable, or threatened by the IUCN, CITES, or the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
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