Spiny Softshell 101 



found. Thus, the likelihood of intentional release of pet trade softshells 

 into Lake Whitehurst cannot be discounted. A presumably introduced 

 specimen of A. s. spinifera (George Mason University Collection, GMU 

 1676) was found in Bull Run Creek, Fairfax County, Virginia in July 

 1982. 



A population of Apalone spinifera became established after 1910 

 in the Maurice River system in southern New Jersey (Conant 1961) 

 and apparently continues to persist (Conant and Collins 1991). Populations 

 in the Colorado River and several aquatic systems in California are 

 also considered introduced (Linsdale and Gressitt 1937, Webb 1962, 

 Stebbins 1985). These introductions indicate that the spiny softshell 

 can survive in areas outside of its natural range and establish viable 

 populations. Thus, until additional populations of A. s. aspera are 

 discovered in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, 

 the Lake Whitehurst population should be considered an introduced 

 population. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS— We thank Joe St. Martin and Andrew 

 Castellano for bringing the Lake Whitehurst softshells to our attention, 

 Tom Pitchford for his initial observation of a softshell in Lake Whitehurst, 

 and Sam Perry, of Perry's Minnow Farm, for allowing us access to 

 his property to study turtles. Alvin Braswell of the North Carolina 

 State Museum of Natural Sciences kindly provided locations of softshell 

 populations in North Carolina. Carl H. Ernst allowed access to the 

 George Mason University vertebrate collection. 



LITERATURE CITED 



Conant, R. 1961. The softshell turtle, Trionyx spinifer, introduced and 



established in New Jersey. Copeia 1961:355-356. 

 Conant, R., and J. T. Collins. 1991. Reptiles and amphibians of eastern 



and central North America. Third Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 



Boston, Massachusetts. 

 Ernst, C. H., and R. W. Barbour. 1972. Turtles of the United States. 



Universtiy of Kentucky Press, Lexington. 

 Ernst, C. H., and R. W. Barbour. 1989. Turtles of the world. Smithsonian 



Institution Press, Washington, D.C. 

 Gibbons, J. W., and D. H. Nelson. 1978. The evolutionary significance of 



delayed emergence from the nest by hatchling turtles. Evolution 32:297- 



303. 

 Iverson, J. B. 1992. A revised checklist with distribution maps of the 



turtles of the world. Privately Printed, Richmond, Indiana. 

 Linsdale, J. M., and J. L. Gressitt. 1937. Soft-shelled turtles in the Colorado 



River basin. Copeia 1937:222-225. 



