Mata mata
Conservation Messaging Opportunities
Physical features
Adult mata matas can grow to 18 inches in length and reach weights up to 30 pounds.
They are brown or black in color.
The shell has three rows of high, cone-shaped scutes along the carapace that collect moss and water plants. The colleted detritus adds to their camouflage while they lay still at the bottom of the water.
Their head and neck are large, flat, and rough.
The eyes are small and sit close to the snout/nose, which is long and allows them to breathe while almost completely submerged.
There are flap-like protuberances from the neck, which are full of nerves and very sensitive. These are thought to pick up movements from fish swimming by, therefore directing the matamata towards its prey. This excellent tactile sense is thought to make up for their tiny eyes and such poor sight.
Unlike other turtles, their jaws are soft and fleshy, not hard.
Matamatas are sexually dimorphic with males having longer tails than females. However, females are larger overall, and have longer necks than males.
Range and Habitat
Range – Northern South America
Habitat – Muddy, shallow ponds, lakes, and very slow moving rivers
Diet: Carnivore
Wild – Fish and small invertebrates
Zoo – Fish
Lifespan
Wild – Unknown
Zoo – Up to 15 years
Reproduction
Mata matas lay 12 to 28 eggs from October to December in the banks of rivers and waterways.
Eggs hatch after an incubation time of two to four months.
Hatchlings are about three inches long and are usually golden yellow or orange.
There is no maternal care invested in the young.
Conservation: Not Evaluated
Major threats: habitat loss, collection for the pet trade
Interpretive Information
They are highly aquatic, remain in the water for long periods of time, and are rarely found basking in the sun like other species of turtles.
Matamatas are poor swimmers. They typically crawl along the bottoms of the bodies of water in which they live.
They are solitary animals and only come together in the wild to mate.
The matamata feeds by sucking in a large amount of water when their unsuspecting prey swims past. The excess water is then expelled while the fish is quickly swallowed.
References
Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo. (2006). Mata mata Turtle. Retrieved February 1, 2007, from the Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo Web site: http://www.beardsleyzoo.org/teachers-parents/animal.asp?mc_id=130
Davidson, B. (2001). Chelus fimbriatus. Retrieved February 1, 2007, from the Animal Diversity Web Web site: http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Chelus_fimbriatus.html
Detroit Zoo. (2007). Matamata. Retrieved February 1, 2007, from the Detroit Zoo Web site: http://www.detroitzoo.org/zoo/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=537&Itemid=546
Honolulu Zoo. (Unknown). Matamata Turtle. Retrieved February 1, 2007, from the Honolulu Zoo Web site: http://www.honoluluzoo.org/matamata_turtle.htm
Updated February 2007