Aquatic. Carapace with weak keel. Plastron with single hinge and squarish pectoral scutes. Two light stripes on head. 
Arkansas Herpetological Atlas 2019
This species is represented by 600 records from 28 sources: 511 museum (
), 0 literature (
), 0 research (
), and 62 observation (
), with 27 additional Trauth et al. (2004) locality points remaining unsourced (
). It has been museum vouchered for 54 of 75 counties (), with 11 additional counties having other forms of reported occurrence (). Years of collection range from 1910 to present.
This species occurs throughout most of the state, although possibly absent from high gradient streams of the Interior Highlands. Ascension into higher elevations occurs along larger river systems (e.g., Buffalo River in the Ozark Highlands and Ouachita River in the Ouachita Mountains).
