The Florida softshell turtle looks almost prehistoric, with a flat leathery shell, long neck and a nose shaped like a tiny snorkel.

It is a native freshwater turtle found across most of Florida in ponds, streams, marshes and even drainage ditches.

The flexible shell is usually dark brown to olive, and the feet are strongly webbed for swimming.

That long neck is more powerful than it looks.

A frightened softshell can extend its head surprisingly far and can deliver a strong defensive bite, so this is not a turtle to pick up casually for a photograph.

Most of its life is spent in water, where it feeds mainly on snails, insects, fish and crustaceans.

Softshells often bury themselves in mud or sand with only the nose exposed.

Road crossings create one of the times people are most likely to encounter them up close.

Females leave the water to find nesting sites, and turtles may also move between wetlands.

If a turtle is crossing a road and assistance can be given safely, Florida wildlife guidance says to move it only in the direction it was already traveling and release it as soon as it is out of danger.

Do not take it home or move it to a different pond.

Florida currently prohibits the take or transport of freshwater softshell turtles under an executive order that remains in effect until repealed.

The restriction also helps reduce the risk of moving disease between turtle populations.

A turtle in the road usually knows where it is trying to go, even when the destination does not look obvious to us.

If the turtle is sick or dead, Florida wildlife officials maintain a freshwater-turtle reporting system for monitoring disease and mortality.

The Wild Suncoast clue: leathery shell, long neck, webbed feet and a tubular nose equal one unmistakable native turtle.