Mata Mata and Me on Today Show

11/11/2009

I will be doing my monthly appearance on the Today Show this morning during the 10-11 a.m. hour with Kathy Lee and Hoda.  As always, I'll be sharing some awesome wildlife with the ladies and all of the viewers.  This time around, one of the animals is definitely an odd looking one: the mata mata.

Mata matas (Chelus fimbriatus) are large, aquatic turtles found in slow moving waters in South America.  Mata mata noses are like snorkels, allowing these turtles to breathe while keeping their entire bodies submerged and hidden (see photo to the right).  Algae grows on their ridged shells, making them look like old logs rotting in the water.  Their heads and limbs are flat and wide and covered with fleshy protuberances that look like decaying leaves and help them detect prey moving in the water around them.  The bark-like shells and leafy bodies break up their silhouette, allowing mata matas to blend in with their background and stay hidden from predators and prey alike.

Mata matas have really wide mouths that give the impression that they are smiling.  But for their fish prey, that "smile" is not very funny.  Mata matas lie still in the mud and leaves underwater in total camouflage.  When a fish comes close, the mata mata snaps open its big mouth and sucks the fish in using vacuum-action and swallows it whole!

VIDEO: Check out this video of a mata mata ambushing and swallowing its prey.  You can really see how these turtles blend in with the decaying vegetation underwater.

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