Florida softshell
Apalone ferox (Schneider, 1783)
Status not recordedturtles and tortoises
The florida softshell (Apalone ferox) is a species in the family Trionychidae, order Testudines. Recorded adults live up to 26.2 years.
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Quick facts about the florida softshell
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- up to 76 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- 26.2 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 36.8 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Egg incubation
- 63 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 22src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 9 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 6src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the florida softshell live?
Not recorded
Where has it been introduced?
The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the florida softshell as introduced in 3 countries.
Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).
Is the florida softshell endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the florida softshell classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classReptilia
- orderTestudines
- familyTrionychidae
- genusApalone
- SpeciesApalone ferox (Schneider, 1783)
Synonyms Amyda ferox, Testudo bartrami, Testudo ferox, Testudo ferox verrucosa, Testudo mollis, Testudo mollis, Trionyx brogniarti, Trionyx brongniarti, Trionyx carinatus, Trionyx carinatus, Trionyx ferox, Trionyx georgianus, Trionyx georgicus, Trionyx harlani
Other names and names in other languages (14)
- Florida soft-shelled turtleEnglish
- Florida softshell turtleEnglish
- سلحفاة لينة الدرقة الفلوريديةArabic
- kožnatka floridskáCzech
- Florida-blødskildpaddeDanish
- Florida-WeichschildkröteGerman
- tortuga de caparazón blando de FloridaSpanish
- Tortue molle de FlorideFrench
- floridai lágyhéjúteknősHungarian
- フロリダスッポンJapanese
- żółwiak drapieżnyPolish
- Tartaruga-de-casco-mole-americanaPortuguese
- Злой триониксRussian
- 珍珠鱉Chinese
Relatives of the florida softshell
Other species in the same genus Apalone.
CompareFlorida softshell vs Spiny softshell turtleFlorida softshell vs Smooth softshellFlorida softshell vs Apalone amorense
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How long does the florida softshell live?
The florida softshell has a recorded lifespan of 26.2 years.
Is the florida softshell an invasive species?
The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the florida softshell as introduced in 3 countries: Belgium, China and Poland, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.
What kind of animal is the florida softshell?
The florida softshell (Apalone ferox) belongs to the family Trionychidae in the order Testudines.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-13. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS) · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-11-13
Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group. - ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles · CC BY 4.0 · v1-2
Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Florida softshell (Apalone ferox). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/florida-softshell
“Florida softshell (Apalone ferox).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/florida-softshell.
@misc{florida_softshell_2026,
title = {Florida softshell (Apalone ferox)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/florida-softshell},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-13}
}