Reptiles · Testudines · Chelidae

Mata Mata

Chelus fimbriata

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The mata mata is one of the strangest turtles in the world: a rough shell bristling with ridges, a triangular, flattened head covered in flaps of skin, and a broad, flexible neck that makes it look like submerged leaf litter. It does not chase its prey: it stays motionless on the bottom and swallows them by suction, opening its mouth all at once and creating a vacuum that drags the fish in.

Weight

10 kg – 17 kg

Size

40 cm – 53 cm

Lifespan

40 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

RainforestFreshwaterCarnivore Nocturnal Solitary Reptile Rainforest Freshwater

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Fun facts

It neither chews nor bites: it opens its mouth all at once, expanding its throat, and generates a suction so abrupt that the fish is dragged in with the water in a fraction of a second; it then pushes the water out through the sides.
Its camouflage is total: the flaps of skin on its head and neck mimic rotting leaves, and the algae growing on its shell make it indistinguishable from the bottom.
Its snout ends in a narrow tube that it uses as a snorkel: it can breathe without moving the rest of its body, staying submerged and motionless for hours.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton with a shell (reptile)
Habitat & environment: Slow, murky water, igapó flooded forest, rainforest streams and swamps of Amazonia and the Orinoco
Sexual maturity: 5 years
Gestation / incubation: 200 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 20 eggs

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelus_fimbriata