Mata mata

{{Short description|Species of freshwater turtle}} {{Other uses|Matamata (disambiguation)}} {{Speciesbox | name = Mata mata | image = 2009 Chelus fimbriatus.JPG | image_caption = In Shanghai Aquarium, China | fossil_range = {{fossil range|Pliocene|Recent}} | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=ttwg>{{cite journal| title=Turtles of the world, 2021 update: Annotated checklist and atlas of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution, and conservation status (9th Ed.)| journal=Chelonian Research Monographs| volume=9 | year=2021 | last1=Rhodin | first1=Anders G.J. |last2=Inverson |first2=John B. |last3=Roger |first3=Bour |last4=Fritz |first4=Uwe |last5=Georges |first5=Arthur |last6=Shaffer |first6=H. Bradley |last7=van Dijk |first7=Peter Paul| collaboration=Turtle Taxonomy Working Group| series=Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group| edition=8| editor1=Rhodin A. G.J. |editor2=Iverson J.B. |editor3=van Dijk P.P. |editor4=Saumure R.A. |editor5=Buhlmann K.A. |editor6=Pritchard P.C.H. |editor6-link=Peter Pritchard |editor7=Mittermeier R.A. |editor7-link=Russell Mittermeier | pages=1–472| isbn=978-1-5323-5026-9| doi=10.3854/crm.8.checklist.atlas.v9.2021 |doi-access=free }}</ref> | status2 = CITES_A2 | status2_system = CITES | status2_ref = <ref name="CITES">{{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2023-03-01|website=cites.org}}</ref> | genus = Chelus | species = fimbriata | authority = (Schneider, 1783)<ref name=sch83>Schneider, J.G. 1783. Allgemeine Naturgeschichte der Schildkröten, nebst einem Systematischen Verseichnisse der einzelnen Arten. Müller, Leipzig. xlviii + 364 p.</ref> | synonyms = {{hidden begin|toggle=left|title={{small|Species synonymy}}}} * ''Testudo terrestris'' Fermin, 1765 ''Nomen rejectum''<ref name=iczn1963>ICZN. 1963. Opinion 660. Suppression under the plenary powers of seven specific names of turtles (Reptilia: Testudines). Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 20:187-190.</ref> * ''Testudo fimbriata'' Schneider, 1783<ref name=sch83 /> * ''Testudo fimbria'' Gmelin, 1789 ''nomen novum'' * ''Testudo matamata'' Bruguière, 1792 ''nomen novum'' * ''Testudo bispinosa'' Daudin, 1801 ''nomen novum'' * ''Emydes matamata'' Brongniart, 1805 * ''Chelus fimbriata'' (Schneider, 1783) recombination<ref name=dum1806>Duméril, A.M.C. 1806. Zoologie Analytique, ou Méthode Naturelle de Classification des Animaux. Paris: Perronneau, 344 pp.</ref> * ''Testudo rapara'' Gray, 1831 ''nomen novum'' * ''Testudo raparara'' Gray, 1844 ''nomen novum'' * ''Testudo raxarara'' Gray, 1856 ''nomen novum'' * ''Chelys boulengerii'' Baur, 1890 ''nomen novum'' {{hidden end}} | synonyms_ref = <ref name="ttwg" /><ref name="Fritz 2007">{{Cite journal|journal=Vertebrate Zoology |title=Checklist of Chelonians of the World |year=2007 |author=Fritz Uwe |author2=Peter Havaš |volume=57 |issue=2 |page=327 |doi=10.3897/vz.57.e30895 |s2cid=87809001 |issn=1864-5755 |doi-access=free }}</ref> | range_map =  | range_map_caption = }}

The '''mata mata''', '''mata-mata''', or '''matamata''' ('''''Chelus fimbriata''''')<ref>[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2011/04/giant_fossil_matamata_turtles.php Giant fossil matamata turtles (matamatas part V)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011173155/http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2011/04/giant_fossil_matamata_turtles.php |date=2011-10-11 }}, Tetrapod Zoology</ref> is a South American species of freshwater turtle found in the Amazon basin and river system of the eastern Guianas. It was formerly believed to also occur in the Orinoco basin, western Guianas and upper Rio Negro–Branco system, but in 2020 these populations were found to belong to a separate species, ''Chelus orinocensis'' (Orinoco mata mata).<ref name=ttwg/><ref name="Vargas-Ramírez2020"/> Subsequently, some authorities have modified the common name of ''Chelus fimbriata'' to '''Amazon mata mata'''.<ref name="ttwg"/> These two are the only extant species in the genus ''Chelus''.<ref name=ttwg/><ref name="Vargas-Ramírez2020">{{cite journal|last1= Vargas-Ramírez|first1= M.|last2= Caballero|first2= S.|last3= Morales-Betancourt|first3= M.A.|last4= Lasso|first4= C.A.|last5= Amaya|first5= L.|last6= Gregorio Martínez|first6= J.|last7=das Neves Silva Viana|first7=M.|last8=Vogt|first8=R.C.|last9=Pires Farias|first9= I.|last10= Hrbek|first10= T.|last11= Campbell|first11= P.D.|last12= Fritz|first12= U.|title= Genomic analyses reveal two species of the matamata (Testudines: Chelidae: ''Chelus'' spp.) and clarify their phylogeography|journal= Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|year= 2020|volume= 148|article-number= 106823|doi= 10.1016/j.ympev.2020.106823|pmid= 32278863|bibcode= 2020MolPE.14806823V|s2cid= 215751367}}</ref>

==Taxonomy== The mata mata first became known to western scientists when it was described by French naturalist Pierre Barrère in 1741 as a "large land turtle with spiky and ridged scales" (translation).<ref name="Espenshade">{{citation | last = Espenshade III | first = William H | title = Matamata, Chelus fimbriatus | journal = Tortuga Gazette | volume=26 | year= 1990 | pages=3–5 | issue =5 }}</ref> It was first scientifically described as ''Testudo terrestris'' in 1765 by Spanish zoologist Fermín Zanón Cervera, but the same scientific name was used for describing the Greek tortoise by Peter Forsskål posthumously in 1775. In 1783, the mata mata was scientifically described again, this time as ''Testudo fimbriata'' by German naturalist Johann Gottlob Schneider. In 1805, it was moved to its own genus as ''Chelys fimbriata'' by André Marie Constant Duméril.<ref name="ttwg"/><ref name="ReptileDatabase">[https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Chelus&species=fimbriata ''Chelus fimbriata''], The Reptile Database</ref> From the mid 1700s to the late 1800s, altogether 15 different scientific names were used for the species.<ref name=tortoise>[http://www.tortoise.org/archives/matamata.html Matamata, ''Chelus fimbriatus''], California Turtle & Tortoise Club</ref> Since the late 1800s, most authorities have used the name ''Chelys fimbriata''. In 1963, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature resolved the issue of ''Testudo terrestris'' (Fermín 1765) by declaring it a nomen oblitum (meaning that only ''Testudo terrestris'' Forsskål 1775 is valid and a synonym for the Greek tortoise), while also declaring that ''Chelys fimbriata'' is a conserved name for the mata mata.<ref name="ttwg"/><ref name="ReptileDatabase"/>

In 1995, distinct morphological differences were found between the populations of the Amazon and Orinoco basins.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sanchez-Vilaga|first1=Marcelo R.|last2=Prichard|first2=Peter C. H.|last3=Paolillo|first3=Alfredo|last4=Linares|first4=Omar J.|date=January 1995|title=Geographic variation in the matamata turtle, ''Chelus fimbriatus'', with observations on its shell morphology and morphometry|url=https://chelonian.org/wp-content/uploads/file/CCB%20Vol%201%20No%204%20(1995)/Sanchez-Villagra_etal_1995.pdf|journal=Chelonian Conservation and Biology|volume=1|pages=292–300}}</ref> In 2020, this was supported by a genetic analysis, which showed a deep split between two of its populations. The authors proposed that the mostly Orinoco population be assigned to a new species, ''Chelus orinocensis'', with the Amazon population retaining the ''C. fimbriatus''. However, ''C. fimbriatus'' is absent from the upper Rio Negro–Branco system (the northernmost part of the Amazon basin), which instead is inhabited by ''C. orinocensis''.<ref name="Vargas-Ramírez2020"/>

==Anatomy and morphology== thumb|left|Top view of the mata mata turtle The mata mata is a large, sedentary turtle with a large, triangular, flattened head with many tubercles and flaps of skin, and a "spike" on its long and tubular snout.<ref name="Espenshade"/> Three barbels occur on the chin and four additional filamentous barbels at the upper jaw, which is neither hooked nor notched.<ref name="Bartlett"> {{citation | last = Bartlett | first = Dick | title = The Matamata | journal = Reptiles Magazine | volume=15 | year= 2007 | pages=18–20 | issue =12 }} </ref>

The mata mata's brown or black, oblong carapace can measure up to {{convert|45|cm|in|abbr=on}} at adult age.<ref name="description">{{in lang|fr}} ''Toutes les tortues du monde'' by Franck Bonin, Bernard Devaux and Alain Dupré, second edition (1998), editions Delachaux and Niestlé/WWF.</ref><ref name=tortoise/> The full adult weight is {{convert|17.2|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref name=AF/> The mata mata's plastron is reduced, narrowed, hingeless, shortened towards the front, and deeply notched at the rear with narrow bridges.<ref name="Bartlett"/> These may be meant to allow the turtle to resemble a piece of bark, camouflaging it from possible predators.<ref>Encyclopedia of Animals: Mammals, Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians, Harold G. Cogger, Edwin Gould, Joseph Forshaw</ref> The plastron and bridges are cream to yellow or brown.<ref name="Bartlett"/> The head, neck, tail, and limbs are grayish brown on adults.<ref name="Bartlett" /> The neck is longer than the vertebra under its carapace and is fringed with small skin flaps along both sides.<ref name="Bartlett" /> Hatchlings show a pink to reddish tinge in the underside edge of their carapaces and plastrons that gradually disappear as they grow.

Each forefoot has five webbed claws. Males have concave plastrons and longer, thicker tails than females.<ref name="Bartlett"/>

==Habitat== The mata mata inhabits slow moving streams, stagnant pools, marshes, and swamps ranging into northern Bolivia, eastern Peru, eastern Ecuador, southeastern Colombia, the eastern Guianas, and northern and central Brazil.<ref name=ttwg/> The mata mata is strictly an aquatic species but it prefers standing in shallow water where its snout can reach the surface to breathe.<ref name="Rosenfeld"> {{citation | last = Rosenfeld | first = Arthur | title = Exotic Pets | publisher = Simon & Schuster | location= New York | pages = 153–155 | year= 1989 | isbn = 978-0-671-47654-0 }} </ref>

==Behavior== thumb|left|Head, in profile thumb The appearance of the mata mata's shell resembles a piece of bark, and its head resembles fallen leaves.<ref name="Cogger"/> As it remains motionless in the water, its skin flaps enable it to blend into the surrounding vegetation until a fish comes close.<ref name="Cogger"> {{citation | last1 = Cogger | first1 = Harold | author-link = Harold Cogger | last2 = Zweifel | first2 = Richard | title = Reptiles & Amphibians | publisher = Weldon Owen | location = Sydney, Australia | page = [https://archive.org/details/reptilesamphibia00coggrich/page/112 112] | year = 1992 | isbn = 978-0-8317-2786-4 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/reptilesamphibia00coggrich/page/112 }} </ref> The mata mata thrusts out its head and opens its large mouth as wide as possible, creating a low-pressure vacuum that sucks the prey into its mouth, known as suction feeding.<ref name="Cogger"/> The mata mata snaps its mouth shut, the water is slowly expelled, and the fish is swallowed whole; the mata mata cannot chew due to the way its mouth is constructed.<ref name="Cogger"/>

==Reproduction== Males display for females by extending their limbs, lunging their heads toward the females with mouths agape, and moving the lateral flaps on their heads. Nesting occurs from October through December in the Upper Amazon. The 12 to 28 brittle, spherical, 35 mm-diameter eggs are deposited in a clutch.

==Diet== {{Expand section|date=March 2018}} The mata mata is carnivorous, feeding almost exclusively upon aquatic invertebrates (such as worms, mussels, crustaceans and insects)<ref>{{cite web | last1=David | first1=Johnathan | url=https://www.everythingreptiles.com/mata-mata-turtle/ | title=Mata Mata Turtle: Care Guide & Species Profile | work=Everything Reptiles | date=22 February 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/help-guides/how-to-keep-a-mata-mata-turtle/ | title=Mata mata turtle, Chelus fimbrata, care sheet | date=14 April 2020 }}</ref><ref name="sta.uwi.edu">{{Cite web |last=Hailey |first=A. |title=Chelus fimbriatus (Mata Mata Turtle) |url=https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Chelus_fimbriatus%20-%20Mata%20Mata%20Turtle.pdf |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=UWI St. Augustine}}</ref> and fish.<ref name="Espenshade"/><ref name="Cogger"/> On rare occasions, it may feed on small birds, amphibians or small mammals that have entered the water.<ref name=AF>{{cite web | url=https://www.theanimalfacts.com/reptiles/matamata/ | title=Matamata - the Animal Facts - Habitat, Appearance, Diet, Behavior }}</ref><ref name="sta.uwi.edu"/> When the stomach content of 20 wild mata mata turtles was examined it consisted exclusively of small fish. The turtles predominantly feed at night in muddy water with limited visibility. However the turtle is well adapted to hunting in these conditions. The mata mata has very fine eyesight with eyes that reflect light, similar to other nocturnal reptiles. In addition, the skin flaps on the neck are also extremely sensitive and help the mata mata detect nearby movement.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Matamatas: The Natural History, Captive Care and Breeding of Chelus fimbriatus|last=Fogel|first=David|publisher=Turtle and tortoise preservation Group Turtles of the world series|year=2011}}</ref>

Mata mata turtles use a specific method of seizing their prey. They will move the prey into shallower areas of water, surround the prey, and wave their front legs to prevent them from escaping. Once surrounded, the mata mata turtles will open their mouths and contract their pharynx, causing a rush of water that pushes the prey into their mouth.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Wise1, Formanowicz Jr.2, Brodie Jr.3|first=Scott C.1, Daniel R.2, Edmund D.3|date=September 1989|title=Matamata Turtles Ambush but Do Not Herd Prey|journal=Journal of Herpetology|volume=23|issue=3|pages=297–299|doi=10.2307/1564454|jstor=1564454}}</ref>

==In captivity== [[File:Mata mata NC.jpg|thumb|right|On exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences]] Mata mata turtles are readily available in the exotic pet trade and are quite expensive to obtain. Due to their unique appearance, they make interesting display animals. They also grow quite large. However, mata matas are not active hunters, so, like the alligator snapping turtle, they need less space than a large, active species.

As with all aquatic turtles, water quality is one of the keys to keeping this species successfully in captivity. Warm, acidic water is the best type used with a high tannin content that should be maintained all year round. Moderate to heavy filtration is recommended.<ref>[http://www.theturtlesource.com/caresheet_Matamata_turtle.asp?id=100200348&type=333&ph=true Mata mata Care Sheet]</ref> Author David Fogel considers his captive mata mata turtles to be quite intelligent. For example, he has observed one turtle positioning itself near the spray bar of the aquarium at feeding time so that floating food is pushed beneath the water's surface where the turtle can catch it more easily.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Matamatas: The Natural History, Captive Care and Breeding of Chelus fimbriatus|last=Fogel|first=David|publisher=Turtle and Tortoise Preservation group's Turtles of the world series|year=2011}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Chelus Category:Turtles of South America Category:Fauna of the Amazon Category:Reptiles of Bolivia Category:Turtles of Brazil Category:Reptiles of Colombia Category:Reptiles of Ecuador Category:Reptiles of French Guiana Category:Reptiles of Peru Category:Reptiles of Suriname Category:Reptiles described in 1783 Category:Extant Pliocene first appearances Category:Taxa named by Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider