Matamata
Chelus fimbriatus
Description
Once one has seen a Matamata, it is unlikely to ever be
confused with any other turtle. The Matamata is truely
one of a kind. A sidenecked turtle from South America.
Brown or black oblong carapace to 44.9 cm. The plastron
is reduced, narrowed, hingeless, shortened towards the
front and deeply notched at the rear. Bridges are
narrow. Plastron and bridge are cream to yellow or
brown.
The head is very distinctive, triangular, large,
extremely flattened. There are numerous tubercles and
flaps of skin. There are two barbels on the chin and
two additional filamentous barbels at the jaw. The
snout is long and tubular. The upper jaw is neither
hooked or notched.
Head, neck, tail, and limbs are grayish brown on
adults. The neck is very long, longer than the vertebra
under the carapace, and is fringed with small skin
flaps along both sides.
Each forefoot has five webbed claws. Males have concave
plastrons and longer, thicker tails.
Habitat
Prefers slow moving, blackwater streams, stagnant
pools, marshes, and swamps. Ranges into northern
Bolivia, eastern Peru, Ecuador, eastern Colombia,
Venezuela, the Guianas, and northern and central Brazil.
Behavior
Prefers shallow water where it can reach the surface to
breathe. Can hold its breath for a long time, remaining
motionless on the bottom. Creeps along the bottom
rather than swim, probably never basks. A wait and
ambush predator, it will remain almost motionless
underwater, its bizarre skin flaps helping it to blend
into the surrounding vegetation, until a fish comes
close. The turtle thrusts out its head and opens its
large mouth as wide as possible, creating a low
pressure volume that sucks the prey into the turtle's
mouth. The Matamata snaps its mouth shut, the water is
slowly expelled, and the fish is swallowed whole. The
prey has to be appropriately sized for the turtle;
Matamatas cannot chew very well due to the way their
mouths are constructed.
Reproduction
Males display for females by extending their limbs,
lunging the head toward the female with mouth agape,
and moving the lateral flaps on the head. Nesting
occurs from October through December in the Upper
Amazon. 12 to 28 brittle, spherical, 35 mm diameter,
eggs are deposited in a clutch. Hatchlings are more
colorful than adults with pink and red colors on the
face and shell.
Food
Carnivorous, feeding on aquatic invertebrates and fish.
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