Mata Mata Turtle

Amazon · weird turtle · master hunter

Looks like a log. The mata mata has a flat, wrinkly shell and a strange triangular head that makes it look almost like a piece of driftwood. This camouflage helps it hide from other animals in murky river water.

Vacuum mouth. Instead of biting and chewing, the mata mata sucks fish into its mouth super fast, like a tiny underwater vacuum cleaner. Its jaw opens and water rushes in, pulling the fish right down its throat.

Amazon river home. These turtles live in slow-moving rivers and swamps in the Amazon basin of South America. They spend most of their time on the bottom, waiting perfectly still for prey to swim by.

Two very similar species. For a long time, scientists thought there was only one mata mata species, but in 2020 they discovered a second one living in the Orinoco river system called Chelus orinocensis. The two species look almost identical but live in different rivers.

Bumpy shell texture. The mata mata's shell has lots of ridges and bumps that help it blend in with the forest floor. This rough texture is another reason it looks so much like a piece of wood.