Wildsight
Compare two species

Spiny Softshell vs. Ouachita Map Turtle

The shell: Spiny Softshell — soft, flat and leathery; Ouachita Map Turtle — hard, with plates. The shell pattern: Spiny Softshell — dark spots or rings on a leathery shell; Ouachita Map Turtle — a fine net of pale lines, like a map. The head marks: Spiny Softshell — several yellow stripes, no patch; Ouachita Map Turtle — a yellow spot or bar behind the eye. The ridge on the shell: Spiny Softshell — no ridge — smooth; Ouachita Map Turtle — a ridge with knobs or bumps along it.

Open this comparison in Wildsight

Spiny Softshell

Apalone spinifera

Ouachita Map Turtle

Graptemys ouachitensis
Spiny Softshell vs. Ouachita Map Turtle: comparison sheet with the differences marked

Photographs via iNaturalist under Creative Commons licences; the photographers are credited on the sheet.

More comparisons

Wildsight identifies the reptiles and amphibians of the United States. Every comparison