Chelus Explained

Chelus is a genus of large freshwater turtles found in tropical South America. Formerly considered to be a monotypic genus, it now consists of two extant species after Chelus orinocensis was identified in 2020 from a genetic analysis.^[1]

Species

There are two extant recognized species in this genus and one extinct species:

• Chelus fimbriatus – Amazon mata mata
• Chelus orinocensis – Orinoco mata mata
• †Chelus colombianus – Columbian mata mata (Late Miocene) ^[2]

Notes and References

1. Sanchez-Vilaga. Marcelo R.. Prichard. Peter C. H.. Paolillo. Alfredo. Linares. Omar J.. January 1995. Geographic variation in the matamata turtle, Chelus fimbriatus, with observations on its shell morphology and morphometry. Chelonian Conservation and Biology . 1 . 292–300.
2. Two new species of Chelus (Testudines: Pleurodira) from the Late Tertiary of northern South America . Breviora. 435 . 1975 . Wood . Roger Conant . 1–26 .