1a. Carapace (upper shell) soft............................... Apalone (Softshell turtles) 2
1b. Carapace hard........................................................................................... 4
The upper shell of the turtle is hard, so you would go to couplets 4a and 4b
and read them thoroughly:
4a. Tail more than half the length of the plastron (bottom shell); bridge (area of
the shell between the front and rear legs that connect the carapace and
plastron) at least twice as long as wide ......................... (Snapping turtles) 5
4b. Tail less than half the length of the plastron; bridge equal to or slightly
longer than wide ........................................................................................ 6