Mata mata turtles are somewhat odd turtles from South America where they live mostly in Brazil in the Amazon and the Orinoco basin.
Mata mata turtle (Chelus fimbriata), Toronto Zoo.
Mata mata turtles tend to just sit in the water looking like a bunch of fallen leaves and when a fish comes close the mata mata just sucks it in and swallows it whole. Mata mata turtles do not move around a lot.
Some people do like to keep a mata mata turtle as a pet in spite of their large size, probably the fact that they just sit in one place all day helps with their space requirements.
Further Readings:
Mata mata on Wikipedia.
Mata mata turtle on the Toronto Zoo web site.
9 Facts About The Mata Mata, The Weirdest Turtle Ever on Mental Floss.
Mata Mata Turtle Care Sheet.
Mata Mata Turtle on Centralpets.com.
Chelus fimbriatus – The Mata Mata on chelonia.org.
Mata mata turtle on the Toronto Zoo web site.
9 Facts About The Mata Mata, The Weirdest Turtle Ever on Mental Floss.
Mata Mata Turtle Care Sheet.
Mata Mata Turtle on Centralpets.com.
Chelus fimbriatus – The Mata Mata on chelonia.org.
Last updated: November 19, 2014