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(The Southern Soft - Shelled Turtle : 
RICHARD DECKERT, New York Zoological Garden 
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YOUNG SPECIMENS OF TRIONYX FEROX 
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Turtles and tortoises known to 
every one by their hard, horny armor, but 
there are a few species that do not pos- 
sess this protective structure. The com- 
monest American species is the Southern 
Soft-shelled Turtle. 
The carapace, or shell, of this creature 
constitutes a soft, more or less cartilagi- 
neous or leathery covering in which the 
outlines of the vertebre and ribs can be 
seen in thin examples, but which is per- 
fectly smooth in well-fed ones. This 
covering bends easily at the edges. The 
outline is oval in the adult and almost 
circular in very young specimens. The 
head and neck can be withdrawn com- 
pletely, as with most of the hard-shelled 
species. 
The head is small, with a soft, pointed 
are 
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snout, and thick, fleshy lips, which con- 
ceal hard, sharp jaws. At the very tip 
of the trunk-like snout are the small nos- 
trils, which can be closed when the turtle 
is under water. The feet are large, mar- 
gined with broad, membranous flaps, the 
toes webbed beyond the tips, each foot 
having but three claws. The carapace is 
slightly convex, with a row of bony plates 
imbedded along the centre. The plastron 
or under side is flat, and also has several 
bony plates, which in old specimens are 
covered with large callosities. On account 
of the flat structure the species is called 
the “Flapjack Turtle” in some parts of 
the South. 
Young examples are prettily marked 
with black spots and rings disposed more 
or less symmetrically over the upper shell 
