Spiny Softshell (Apalone spinifera)
no rights reserved, uploaded by Nick Loveland · CC0 1.0 (opens in a new tab) · iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)
ReptilesIn Hamilton County, Ohio

Spiny Softshell

Apalone spinifera (Lesueur, 1827)

Spiny Softshell in all of Ohio
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Genus
Apalone

Conservation status

  • Endangered under the US Endangered Species Act (listed as Trionyx ater) (US Fish and Wildlife Service, list as of November 2026)

Exact locations of listed species are never shown.

Near Hamilton County

Range

Where it is recorded

Season shown in 0 of Ohio's 88 counties. Explore Ohio

Within its mapped range in Ohio. Range: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Species Range Maps CONUS_2001 (2018).

  • No result yet (83)
  • Recorded, too few records for a result (0)
  • Recorded, season not shown (5)
  • Season shown (0)
Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files, 1:500,000. Show as a table
Counties as a table
Spiny Softshell by Ohio county: records and mapped range
CountyRecords
Adams CountyNo qualifying records yet
Allen CountyNo qualifying records yet
Ashland County22 · Recorded, season not shown
Ashtabula CountyNo qualifying records yet
Athens CountyNo qualifying records yet
Auglaize CountyNo qualifying records yet
Belmont CountyNo qualifying records yet
Brown CountyNo qualifying records yet
Butler CountyNo qualifying records yet
Carroll CountyNo qualifying records yet
Champaign CountyNo qualifying records yet
Clark CountyNo qualifying records yet
Clermont CountyNo qualifying records yet
Clinton CountyNo qualifying records yet
Columbiana CountyNo qualifying records yet
Coshocton CountyNo qualifying records yet
Crawford CountyNo qualifying records yet
Cuyahoga County28 · Recorded, season not shown
Darke CountyNo qualifying records yet
Defiance CountyNo qualifying records yet
Delaware CountyNo qualifying records yet
Erie CountyNo qualifying records yet
Fairfield CountyNo qualifying records yet
Fayette CountyNo qualifying records yet
Franklin County29 · Recorded, season not shown
Fulton CountyNo qualifying records yet
Gallia CountyNo qualifying records yet
Geauga CountyNo qualifying records yet
Greene CountyNo qualifying records yet
Guernsey CountyNo qualifying records yet
Hamilton County37 · Recorded, season not shown
Hancock CountyNo qualifying records yet
Hardin CountyNo qualifying records yet
Harrison CountyNo qualifying records yet
Henry CountyNo qualifying records yet
Highland CountyNo qualifying records yet
Hocking CountyNo qualifying records yet
Holmes CountyNo qualifying records yet
Huron CountyNo qualifying records yet
Jackson CountyNo qualifying records yet
Jefferson CountyNo qualifying records yet
Knox CountyNo qualifying records yet
Lake CountyNo qualifying records yet
Lawrence CountyNo qualifying records yet
Licking CountyNo qualifying records yet
Logan CountyNo qualifying records yet
Lorain CountyNo qualifying records yet
Lucas CountyNo qualifying records yet
Madison CountyNo qualifying records yet
Mahoning CountyNo qualifying records yet
Marion CountyNo qualifying records yet
Medina CountyNo qualifying records yet
Meigs CountyNo qualifying records yet
Mercer CountyNo qualifying records yet
Miami CountyNo qualifying records yet
Monroe CountyNo qualifying records yet
Montgomery CountyNo qualifying records yet
Morgan CountyNo qualifying records yet
Morrow CountyNo qualifying records yet
Muskingum CountyNo qualifying records yet
Noble CountyNo qualifying records yet
Ottawa CountyNo qualifying records yet
Paulding CountyNo qualifying records yet
Perry CountyNo qualifying records yet
Pickaway CountyNo qualifying records yet
Pike CountyNo qualifying records yet
Portage CountyNo qualifying records yet
Preble CountyNo qualifying records yet
Putnam CountyNo qualifying records yet
Richland CountyNo qualifying records yet
Ross CountyNo qualifying records yet
Sandusky CountyNo qualifying records yet
Scioto CountyNo qualifying records yet
Seneca CountyNo qualifying records yet
Shelby CountyNo qualifying records yet
Stark CountyNo qualifying records yet
Summit County75 · Recorded, season not shown
Trumbull CountyNo qualifying records yet
Tuscarawas CountyNo qualifying records yet
Union CountyNo qualifying records yet
Van Wert CountyNo qualifying records yet
Vinton CountyNo qualifying records yet
Warren CountyNo qualifying records yet
Washington CountyNo qualifying records yet
Wayne CountyNo qualifying records yet
Williams CountyNo qualifying records yet
Wood CountyNo qualifying records yet
Wyandot CountyNo qualifying records yet

Season

When it is recorded

In Hamilton County

Not enough evidence

Recorded in two separate seasons, so one season would put its middle week in the gap. Based on 37 records in 8 of the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, above the minimum of 20 records from 5 different years.
Show over the bars
Recording in Hamilton County · records of all species each week, 87,019 in all

Records per week from 37 records in 8 of the 10 years from 2016 to 2025. Shows when people recorded it, not a season or how common it is.

Show as a table
Records of Spiny Softshell in Hamilton County each week, and records of all species
WeekRecords of Spiny SoftshellYears recordedRecords of all species
Jan 4–1000392
Jan 11–1700344
Jan 18–2400312
Jan 25–3100206
Feb 1–700357
Feb 8–1400383
Feb 15–2100366
Feb 22–2800391
Mar 1–700551
Mar 8–1400523
Mar 15–2100750
Mar 22–28001,012
Mar 29 – Apr 4001,535
Apr 5–11111,960
Apr 12–18002,492
Apr 19–25112,403
Apr 26 – May 2223,783
May 3–9003,307
May 10–16112,059
May 17–23002,153
May 24–30212,390
May 31 – Jun 6432,648
Jun 7–13422,715
Jun 14–20112,695
Jun 21–27002,714
Jun 28 – Jul 4003,220
Jul 5–11112,980
Jul 12–18003,031
Jul 19–25002,961
Jul 26 – Aug 1112,795
Aug 2–8222,884
Aug 9–15002,696
Aug 16–22002,535
Aug 23–29332,536
Aug 30 – Sep 5822,606
Sep 6–12212,980
Sep 13–19112,959
Sep 20–26112,313
Sep 27 – Oct 3002,122
Oct 4–10111,828
Oct 11–17001,793
Oct 18–24001,338
Oct 25–31111,023
Nov 1–700676
Nov 8–1400593
Nov 15–2100384
Nov 22–2800496
Nov 29 – Dec 500356
Dec 6–1200478
Dec 13–1900285
Dec 20–2600322
Dec 27 – Jan 200388

In Ohio

Mid-April to mid-September, middle week Jun 21–27

Show over the bars
Recording in Ohio · records of all species each week, 1,691,199 in all

Records per week from 605 records in 10 of the 10 years from 2016 to 2025. Shows when people recorded it, not how common it is. The grey bars show how many records of all species were made here each week, so you can see when recording itself was high or low; the season is not adjusted by them.

Show as a table
Records of Spiny Softshell in Ohio each week, and records of all species
WeekRecords of Spiny SoftshellYears recordedRecords of all species
Jan 4–10006,211
Jan 11–17005,146
Jan 18–24004,645
Jan 25–31004,698
Feb 1–7006,023
Feb 8–14005,888
Feb 15–21005,436
Feb 22–28116,846
Mar 1–7008,321
Mar 8–140010,384
Mar 15–210012,620
Mar 22–281113,949
Mar 29 – Apr 43219,661
Apr 5–112226,860
Apr 12–1812439,925
Apr 19–2520741,623
Apr 26 – May 234956,391
May 3–924852,952
May 10–1633853,785
May 17–2329857,698
May 24–3031754,651
May 31 – Jun 632853,099
Jun 7–1331853,700
Jun 14–2028956,625
Jun 21–2727855,361
Jun 28 – Jul 4381058,477
Jul 5–1125961,336
Jul 12–1821764,722
Jul 19–2528969,753
Jul 26 – Aug 124759,416
Aug 2–817859,712
Aug 9–1520655,994
Aug 16–2217754,328
Aug 23–2919851,772
Aug 30 – Sep 522757,167
Sep 6–12201059,075
Sep 13–1913754,543
Sep 20–2616745,860
Sep 27 – Oct 35343,180
Oct 4–106337,841
Oct 11–172230,824
Oct 18–242221,156
Oct 25–312219,021
Nov 1–70014,172
Nov 8–140012,621
Nov 15–21007,965
Nov 22–28008,136
Nov 29 – Dec 5006,083
Dec 6–12006,004
Dec 13–19005,423
Dec 20–26005,661
Dec 27 – Jan 2008,459

What these results show

These results show when people recorded a species, not when or where it occurs. Missing weeks and low counts do not mean absence or scarcity, and counts are not abundance. Contributed records reflect where, when and what people chose to observe.

Identification

How to identify it

Often confused with

  • Pond Slider Trachemys scripta99 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • Common Snapping Turtle Chelydra serpentina77 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • Northern Map Turtle Graptemys geographica17 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • Painted Turtle Chrysemys picta16 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • River Cooter Pseudemys concinna11 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant

From iNaturalist’s similar-species counts, refreshed monthly: confusions in Ohio first, then worldwide. Only species with an Ohio result are listed.

Months not reported

  1. Jan: no record
  2. Feb: recorded
  3. Mar: recorded
  4. Apr: recorded
  5. May: recorded
  6. Jun: recorded
  7. Jul: recorded
  8. Aug: recorded
  9. Sep: recorded
  10. Oct: recorded
  11. Nov: no record
  12. Dec: no record

Not reported in Ohio in November to January, 2016 to 2025.

Times of day, land cover and photos from records are not shown for species whose locations are protected.

Finer identifications

Some Ohio records of this species were identified to a subspecies:

  • Apalone spinifera spiniferaEastern Spiny Softshellsubspecies

Every one of these records counts toward the Spiny Softshell's season above.

Why some records go further than species

Many species vary from place to place. Groups of a species that look or sound a little different, and live in different areas, can be named as subspecies. Observers and experts only identify a record that far when it shows enough detail to tell them apart. Records without that detail count at the species level.

Names: Catalogue of Life.

Sources

Where these results come from

  • Records from iNaturalist research-grade observations and expert-identified GBIF datasets, CC0, CC BY and CC BY-NC. Sources
  • Seasons use the published method and its evidence thresholds. Methods
  • See it on iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)OpenPhenology is independent and not affiliated with iNaturalist.

Records behind the Ohio result

605 records from 3 datasets.

To cite: the GBIF downloads doi:10.15468/dl.8m7c3d (opens in a new tab), doi:10.15468/dl.y2jkt8 (opens in a new tab).

Links to individual records are not shown for this species, to protect the places it is recorded.