Chapter Text
Spiny softshells can breathe underwater if the water is oxygenated enough
Apalone spinifera is the scientific name for a spiny softshell(Apalone means soft, Spina means thorn or spine, Ifer means bearing)
Member of the Trionychidae family
The carapace of a spiny softshell is moderately flexible
They have webbed, clawed, three-toed feet(hands in Donny's case)
The carapace can be brown, buff(a yellowish brown), or olive in color
Females grow larger than males, as is the case with most reptiles
The spines are usually only on males and are found on the part of the shell near the head
They're both ambush hunters and active hunters
They eat aquatic invertebrates, fish, algae stocks and other plant materials, and mussels
Charles Alexandre Lesueur first described the species in 1827