Apalone spinifera spinifera

The shell of the eastern spiny soft-shell turtle is leathery with a marginal dark line on the carapace and tubercles on its anterior margin. The carapace is a wide oval, nearly as broad as it is long. Most of the carapace surface is roughened by small, sharp projections that give it a sandpaper-like surface. Coloration of the carapace is olive to grayish with numerous dark spots. The plastron is a uniform white or yellow in color. The lips are yellow and dark-spotted. The feet are mottled or streaked with yellow. Females are larger than males, and the coloration of the sexes is also different. Males tend to keep juvenile markings of spots and lines. Juveniles are usually paler in color than adults.

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