I keep seeing this in various pieces of Rise media, and I'm not calling anyone out or anything, but I do just want to say something.
Spiny Softshells are not called "Spiny" because you can see their spine!
In a standard spiny softshell, you shouldn't be able to see their spine at all!
Ridges, yes. But no spine bumps.
Our dearest Donatello, with his sometimes-there spine, is an outlier adn should not be counted.
Now you see me, now you dont
No, what the "Spiny" in "Spiny Softshell" is refering to, are these:
Both the common name, spiny softshell, and the specific name, spinifera (spine-bearing), refer to the spiny, cone-like projections on the leading edge of the carapace
- Wikipedia
Also the spines are "more commonly found in males". Not all males have them, and not all females are missing them, so Donnie not having them could mean nothing or it could feed whatever trans headcanon you might have for him. Dealers choice.
Anyway that's all I wanted to say. I have some personal headcanons for why we can see Donnie's spine, which you can check out here if you're curious, but otherwise I'm done here. You may go about your day, knowing very slightly more about an underappreciated species of turtle.
