Amazon mata mata
Chelus fimbriata (Schneider, 1783)
Status not recordedturtles and tortoises
The amazon mata mata (Chelus fimbriata) is a reptile in the turtles and tortoises subgroup, placed in the family Chelidae. It belongs to the order Testudines, suborder Pleurodira and superfamily Cheloidea, within the class Reptilia and phylum Chordata.
Quick facts about the amazon mata mata
The scientific name Chelus fimbriata carries the authority (Schneider, 1783), and the species sits in the genus Chelus. Other English names include Mata mata, Matamata turtle, Amazon mata-mata, Amazonian mata mata and Amazonian mata-mata.
- Weight
- up to 12 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- up to 95 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 35.8 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- freshwatersrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 12 – 28src for Young per litter or clutch
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the amazon mata mata
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Where does the amazon mata mata live?
Not recorded
What is the amazon mata mata?
The Amazon mata mata (Chelus fimbriata) is a South American species of freshwater turtle found in the Amazon basin and river system of the eastern Guianas.
From the Wikipedia article “Amazon mata mata” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amazon_mata_mata&oldid=1381903151), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the amazon mata mata endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the amazon mata mata classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classReptilia
- orderTestudines
- familyChelidae
- genusChelus
- SpeciesChelus fimbriata (Schneider, 1783)
Synonyms Chelys boulengerii, Testudo bi-spinosa, Testudo bispinosa, Testudo fimbria, Testudo fimbriata, Testudo matamata, Testudo rapara, Testudo raparara, Testudo raxarara, Testudo terrestris, Testudo torticollis
Other names and names in other languages (23)
- Amazon mata-mataEnglish
- Amazonian mata mataEnglish
- Amazonian mata-mataEnglish
- Mata mataEnglish
- Matamata turtleEnglish
- matamata třásnitáCzech
- Sydlig FrynseskildpaddeDanish
- MatamataGerman
- FransenschildkröteGerman
- matamata amazonicaSpanish
- Mata-matá AmazónicaSpanish
- matamata del AmazonasSpanish
- Matamata d'AmazonieFrench
- cafrangos teknős (matamata)Hungarian
- 아마존 마타마타Korean
- CágadoPortuguese
- Mata-MatáPortuguese
- Matá-matáPortuguese
- mata-mata amazônicaPortuguese
- MatamatáPortuguese
- Бахромчатая черепахаRussian
- МатаматаUkrainian
- 楓葉龜Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFTAXREFWikidataWikidataWoRMS
Relatives of the amazon mata mata
Other species in the same genus Chelus.
CompareAmazon mata mata vs Orinoco MatamataAmazon mata mata vs Chelus colombianusAmazon mata mata vs Chelus lewisi
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the amazon mata mata?
The amazon mata mata is a reptile in the turtles and tortoises subgroup, belonging to the order Testudines.
What is the scientific name of the amazon mata mata?
Its scientific name is Chelus fimbriata, in the genus Chelus.
Who named the amazon mata mata and when?
The species name Chelus fimbriata carries the authority (Schneider, 1783).
What family does the amazon mata mata belong to?
It belongs to the family Chelidae, in the superfamily Cheloidea and suborder Pleurodira.
What are other names for the amazon mata mata?
Other English names are Mata mata, Matamata turtle, Amazon mata-mata, Amazonian mata mata and Amazonian mata-mata.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles · CC BY 4.0 · v1-2
Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Amazon mata mata (Chelus fimbriata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/amazon-mata-mata
“Amazon mata mata (Chelus fimbriata).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/amazon-mata-mata.
@misc{amazon_mata_mata_2026,
title = {Amazon mata mata (Chelus fimbriata)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/amazon-mata-mata},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}