Spiny Soft-shell (Apalone spinifera) adult male

Straight Carapace Length (SCL) = 8"
Maximum Carapace Width (MCW) = not recorded
Weight = 1 lb.
Gender = male
Named: Ferd
Comments:
   - feisty, unblemished male

   - loaned for observation and photos by Chris Wilson, owner of 1 Fish 2 Fish pet store, Owensboro, KY

   - common to the Green River (a tributary of the Ohio River) and its tributaries in Kentucky
     • extremely frisky with much thrashing and flailing
     • very long neck makes this turtle difficult to hold without being bitten
     • slippery plastron makes the shell difficult to grasp securely
     • note that turtle may be safely held if deliberately and firmly grasped by carapace just forward of hind legs
     • long tail with enlarged base and distal cloaca make this a male turtle
     • Where would turtle handlers be without those 5-gallon drywall joint compound buckets?