Instead, it is flat and leathery with very flexible edges. It very much resembles a pancake. These turtles differ from the very similar spiny softshells by having a completely smooth carapace. The nose tapers to a point and resembles a snorkle. There is NO ridge in each nostril, this is also a good way to differ a specimen in hand from a spiny softshell.
Adult males are usually gray or brown with dots and dashes on the back.
Adult females are much more drab in coloration and have large dark blotches on the carapace. The neck and feet are not patterned, but the sides of the head may have a peach or pink wash. Their plastron is quite small and is white with no distinctive markings. The young are about two inches at hatching and are patterned like adult males. The subspecies of smooth softshell found in Minnesota is the midland smooth softshell, Apalone muticus .