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Latin name: Apalone spiniferaSize: As long as 21 inches (female) or 9 inches (male)Habitat: Anywhere wet, especially riversThe creature paddling leisurely in the gin-clear water at Balmorhea State Park, in far West Texas, was the approximate size, shape, and color of a buttermilk flapjack. When I crouched along the grassy banks of a small ciénaga, or desert wetland, near the park’s lodge, the turtle raised its long, wrinkly neck and stared at me. I couldn’t help but smile. Spiny softshell turtles are delightfully strange. Their snorkel-like snout, pinprick eyes, and fat feet appear to be borrowed from a fantastical anime character. The Texas spiny softshell (illustrated above) that resides in the Pecos and Rio Grande river systems is one of four subspecies in the state. I’ve…

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