The matamata uses its wide, flat head and powerful suction feeding to catch prey.
Matamatas are freshwater turtles of the Amazon and Orinoco basins. Their rough, knobbly shells and skin flaps resemble dead leaves, helping them blend into muddy, vegetation-filled water. They are ambush predators that usually remain motionless on the bottom.
When a fish comes close, the turtle rapidly expands its throat and mouth, pulling water and prey inward in a sudden suction-feeding action. It then expels the water and swallows the prey. This is different from the biting strategy associated with snapping turtles.
The species is often written as matamata or matamata turtle. Its scientific name is Chelus fimbriata, and older sources may place it in the genus Chelus with a different classification.