NAME Florida soft-shelled turtle - Trionyx ferox photos

CLASSIFICATION ORDER: Testudines, SUBORDER: Cryptodira, SUPERFAMILY: Trionychoidea, FAMILY: Trionychidae, SUBFAMILY: Trionychinae, GENUS: Trionyx
DISTRIBUTIONentire Florida, USA ( except Keys ), coastal swamps of Georgia and southern Carolina.
SIZEcarapace length up to 20 inches
IDENTIFICATIONbrown, olive carapace. Head and soft parts in adults brown, grey or pinkish. Juvenile turtles are very attractively colored with olive - yellowish carapace with large grey to dark olive spots. The rim of the carapace is yellow to orange, and ther are yellow and orange lines extending from the area behind the eye. The stripes extand to the neck. This striking coloration gets lost in adults, although in some individuals sooner and some later. Neck long and legs webbed.
IN CAPTIVITYWill eat fish, lean beef, chicken, molluscs, snails, gold fish and commercial turtle food. Not as aggressive as some other soft - shells, but might bite when handled.
A food item within its range.
BEHAVIORPrefers still waters, plentiful in the swamp like Florida Everglades, and might be found in brackish waters. It feeds mostly on molluscs, but an occasional fish might be taken.
REPRODUCTIONFemale gets larger than male, and the eggs are laid from March to July, and from June in northern areas. Clutch numbers in 7 to 22 eggs.