Mata matas occur in South America, primarily in the Amazon and Orinoco basins. Their range extends into northern Bolivia, eastern Peru, Ecuador, eastern Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, and northern and central Brazil. These turtles live in slow-moving, blackwater streams, stagnant pools, rivers, marshes, and swamps. Mata matas are strictly aquatic but they prefer standing in shallow water where their snout can reach the surface to breathe.