Sidenecked Turtle

Sidenecked Turtle Description

The sidenecked turtle or matamata is possibly one of the strangest looking animals on the planet. Spending their life in water, sidenecked turtles prefer shallow areas so they can extend their snout above the surface to breathe and still touch the bottom. Sidenecked turtles look so strange to disguise their outline, blending in with the surrounding bits of wood and fallen leaves. The miscellaneous flaps of skin also contain nerves to help with sensing prey and their environment. Unusually for a turtle, they extend their neck under their shell laterally as opposed to vertically giving the animal its English common name. Matamata ambush fish from a camouflaged position. They rapidly extend their necks sucking the animal into their mouth, which is then swallowed whole.

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