Instead of an exterior shell ... the turtle spends 95 percent of its life hidden in sand or mud with only its eyes and nose showing. It possesses long claws and can extend its neck with lightning ...

Chinese state media has said the last known female Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle ... the other turtle lost his life. The female turtle’s fate comes after a long struggle with infertility.

And despite its ability to stretch its 6-inch neck completely out of and back ... a Trionyx spiniferus, or spiny soft shell turtle of the size Joe Guidry caught, is almost certainly a female.

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.

Distinguishing features: Long tail and neck, huge head ... feature of the softshell is its namesake soft shell, which is leathery and pliable. These turtles are usually greenish with yellow ...

They have long claws and powerful jaws that are strong enough to crush bone. Like other soft-shell turtle species, they are thought to have the ability to extract oxygen from the water through ...

as the turtles like to lay their eggs overnight and cover them with dirt. When emerging from their shell, hatchlings can be as small as about 4 centimeters. They can grow to as long as 3.6 feet ...