Chelus

For the ancient Greek lyre, see Chelys.

Chelus is a genus of large freshwater turtles found in tropical South America. Formerly considered to be a monotypic genus,^[3] it now consists of two extant species after Chelus orinocensis was identified in 2020 from a genetic analysis.^[4]

Chelus Temporal range: Miocene–recent[1] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Chelus fimbriatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Pleurodira
Family:	Chelidae
Subfamily:	Chelinae
Genus:	Chelus Duméril, 1805[2]

Evolution

Fossils of the extinct †C. colombianus have been found in Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil, including a skull dating to the early Miocene (~ 16 m.y.) of the Castilletes Formation, Cocinetas Basin, in Colombia. The fossil shows that the skull morphology of Chelus has been almost unchanged since the Miocene.^[5][6]

Species

There are two extant recognized species in this genus^[3][7] and one extinct species:^[1]

• Chelus fimbriatus – Amazon mata mata
• Chelus orinocensis – Orinoco mata mata
• †Chelus colombianus – Columbian mata mata (Early-Late Miocene)^[8][6]