Taxonomy
The mata mata was described for the first time by French naturalist Pierre Barrère in 1741 as a "large land turtle with spiky and ridged scales" (translation). It was first classified as Testudo fimbriata by German naturalist Johann Gottlob Schneider in 1783. It was renamed 14 different times in 2 centuries, finally being renamed Chelus fimbriata in 1992.
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