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Mata Mata
Chelus fimbriatus (1783,
Schneider) |
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| general
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| description |
A bizarre and unique turtle
that has a remarkable appearance |
| appearance |
Flat head, with a flexible
proboscis and 2 wide lateral skin flaps which make it
look triangular. The neck, which is likewise flattened,
is very long and also carries numerous skin appendages.
3 series of large tubercles run longitudinally on the
rough and knobby carapace. |
| a.k.a |
Caripatua |
| distribution |
      
Northern and central South America; the Amazon and Orinoco
drainages of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru,
Bolivia, Guyana, and intervening coastal rivers in the
Guianas.
code : BO, BR, EC, GF, GY, PE, SR, TT, VE |
| adult
size |
1' 2" - 1' 6" carapax length
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| life
span |
30 - 35 years
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| housing |
| natural
habitats |
Aquatic, sedentary; Slow-moving
blackwater streams, swamps, oxbows, muddy lakes, fresh
and stagnant waters, clay or mud bottom, rich vegetation
with plant detritus |
| aquarium |
Land area is unnecessary.
Preferablly with a lot of aquatic plants. Water should
be shallow where it can breathe by extending its long
neck and tubed nose to the surface -- It is poor swimmer,
can drown. |
| substrate |
Soil, mud, gravel, barks
(e.g. Repti Bark,
Coconut Bark) |
| activity
period |
 Nighttime (nocturnal);
give heat and help monitoring by infrared lamps (e.g. Nightlight
Red Bulb, Infrared
Heat Lamp) where the light is invisible for it but
humans |
| temperature |
25 - 27 ¢XC -- day
23 - 25 ¢XC -- night |
| diet |
| wild
diet |
Carnivorous (meat-eating);
Fish, amphibian
larvae, aquatic invertebrates and occasionally aquatic
plants |
| primary
food |
Fish (e.g. minnows, goldfish),
crayfish, shrimps, Aquatic
Turtle Food |
| occasional
food |
aquatic plants |
| notes |
When a fish passes within
reach, it rapidly opens its mouth, thereby sucking in
the water which carries the prey into its jaws. |
| reproduction |
| reproduction |
Oviparous |
| eggs |
lays 12 - 28 eggs per
clutch |
| incubation |
195 - 205 days |
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