Bartram Trail Society of Florida
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  • About Bartram
    • Introduction to the Bartram Trail in Putnam County
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  • Trail Sites
    • Sites 1 thru 8
      • Site 1 Palmetto Bluff / Bridgeport
      • Site 2 Forrester Point
      • Site 3 Grays Creek
      • Site 4 Palatka
      • Site 5 Ravine Gardens
      • Site 6 Waterworks / Puc Puggy
      • Site 7 Rollestown
      • Site 8 Dunns Creek
    • Sites 9 thru 16
      • Site 9 Crescent Lake Campsite
      • Site 10 Bear Island
      • Site 11 Murphy Island / Dunns Island
      • Site 12 Seven Sisters Islands
      • Site 13 Spalding’s Lower Store
      • Site 14 Johnson’s Spring
      • Site 15 Satsuma Spring
      • Site 16 Nashua Spring
    • Sites 17 thru 24
      • Site 17 Welaka Spring
      • Site 18 Johnson’s Bluff
      • Site 19 Mount Hope / Beecher Pt
      • Site 20 & 22 Beecher Springs
      • Site 21 Mount Royal
      • Site 23 Georgetown
      • Site 24 Bryan’s and Drayton Island
    • Sites 25 thru 32
      • Site 25 Bryan’s and Drayton Island
      • Site 26 Orange / Lake George Points
      • Site 27 Rocky Point
      • Site 28 Salt Springs Run
      • Site 29 Salt Springs
      • Site 30 Cowpen Lake / Halfway Pond
      • Site 31 Deep Creek
      • Site 32 The Beautiful Isle / Drayton Island
      • Grandview – Provisional Site
  • Natural History
    • Dwarf Pawpaws
    • Gopher Tortoise
    • Softshell Turtles
    • Water Lettuce
    • Bartram Ixia
    • Salt Springs Plants
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        • Bartram Story Map- 31 sites
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Softshell Turtles

Bartram's Great Softshell TurtlesPhoto Gallery
William Bartram Encounters Softshell Turtles

“…in all the rivers, lakes, and ponds of East Florida, the great soft-shelled tortoises: they are very large when full grown, from twenty to thirty and forty pounds weight, extremely fat and delicious, but if eaten to excess, are apt to purge people not accustomed to eat their meat.” Bartram described this turtle species while at “Halfway Pond, in a spacious meadow, beneath a chain of elevated sand-hills…”  Bartram’s Halfway Pond is the present-day Cowpen Lake, near Interlachen, on SR 20, in southwest Putnam County.  Softshells are still common in this lake and other lakes in the region.

What makes Softshells Different

Softshells belong to the turtle family Trionychidae.  These unusual turtles have a long fossil history that stretches back millions years to the age of dinosaurs.  Today living species occur in Asia, Africa, and North America.  Softshells are unique among turtles in that their shells are soft, leathery, and completely devoid of scales.  Embedded in this flexible, fleshy shell are bony structures that correspond to the carapace and plastron of other turtles, except they lack the typical peripheral shell bones found in most other turtle shells.

Softshell Turtles of Florida

Bartram’s Florida softshell (Apalone ferox) is one of three species of softshells found in Florida. The Florida softshell occurs in most aquatic habitats throughout the state including the Florida Keys.  The smooth softshell (Apalone muticus) and the spiny softshell (Apalone spiniferus) occur in riverine habitats in west Florida, with the spiny also in the St. Mary’s River in northeast Florida.

The Perfec Aquatic Predator

Powerful legs and webbed feet propel Florida softshells through water with great speed and agility.  They also will lie in wait partially buried in the mucky lake bottom, ready to spring on would-be prey.  Their snorkel-like faces enable them to stay nearly submerged with only their nose and eyes penetrating the water surface.  Long flexible necks and strong jaws allow them to catch crayfishes and other active aquatic prey.  They will also scavenge animal remains and fleshy fruits when available.

Natural History of Florida Softshells

Female Florida softshells (Apalone ferox) achieve a much larger body side (up to 24 inches) than mature males (6-12 inches, occasionally larger).  Females lay 10-25 eggs per clutch and they may lay more than one clutch a year.  Eggs are hard-shelled, round, and about an inch in diameter. They are laid in nests dug by the mother using her hind legs usually at sandy spots, often considerable distances from the turtle’s normal watery habitat.  Eggs take more than two months to incubate.  Hatchlings are about 1.5 inches when they emerge from their nests.  There are many pitfalls along the way that prevent the many of the young turtles from finding their way to water. Youngsters that survive the trip are confronted with new hazards among them hungry fish, alligators, and birds.

Softshell Turtle DrawingSoftshell Turtle Drawing
 
 

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