The mata mata is a uniquely shaped turtle. Its shell is deeply ridged and pitted, but the most unusual feature is the reptiles head flattened, spiked and splayed into a vaguely leaf-like shape. The mata mata makes its home in slow moving streams, pools, marshes and swamps of South America, shuffling into the leaf litter at the bottom of such water bodies. The uniquely shaped shell and head help it to blend perfectly into such debris hiding from anything that might consider it tasty. But its not just predators it hides from. The mata mata is a sit and wait predator itself. Hidden amongst the leaves and mud it is sedentary, moving little. When an unfortunate fish happens to swim by, the mata mata will suck such it into its mouth and swallow it whole. Living for up to 75 years, the mata mata spends its slow life in this way, sticking its twiggy nose up to the surface of the shallow water to breathe and only ever coming out of the water fully to lay eggs. But things do sometimes get a little more exciting. To woo a potential mate, the male does a little dance. Although this basically consists of sticking out his legs, and lunging towards the female open mouthed, its enough of an effort for the female mata mata.
