The matamata, Chelus fimbriata, is a large, sedentary freshwater turtle of the Amazon basin and eastern Guiana river systems, belonging to the family Chelidae within Pleurodira, the side-necked turtles, a group that bends its neck sideways into its shell rather than pulling it straight back. It is instantly recognizable by its large, flattened, triangular head covered in tubercles and skin flaps, a long tubular snout, and a brown or black knobbly oblong shell that can reach about 45 centimeters. An ambush predator, it lies motionless in slow-moving streams, stagnant pools and swamps and captures fish and aquatic invertebrates with a rapid suction-feeding strike.
Facts
Classification
System (Realm) Living or Extinct Scientific Name Connections
Child Taxon Of
In Biome
Lake, Biomes Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Chelus fimbriatus
River, Biomes Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Chelus fimbriatus
Sources
1. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Chelus fimbriatus
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyPrimary Diet, Chelus fimbriatus
Primary Diet carnivore carnivore
Habitat Regions, Chelus fimbriatus
Habitat Regions tropical tropical freshwater freshwater
In Biome: Lake, Habitat Regions, biome: lakes and ponds
lakes and ponds
In Biome: River, Habitat Regions, biome: rivers and streams
rivers and streams
View the Source 2. Wikidata (taxon extant/extinct status)
Wikimedia Foundation / Wikidata contributorsQ317386, descriptionView the Source 3. Wikidata: Matamata
Child Taxon Of: Chelidae, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chainView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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