Matamata Snaps Up Fish

Gerard and Anthony Pierlioni

December 26, 2013 / 1 minute read time / Project Updates, Videos / 1 Comment

Gerard’s Chelus fimbriata shows off hunting skills

Gerard, new breeder at theTurtleRoom shares a quick video of one member of his beautiful group of Matamata Turtles (Chelus fimbriata). This species has the weakest bite of all turtle species, which it makes up for with an ambush hunting style that includes a unique vacuum motion. Stay tuned for upcoming project pages and updates of more of Gerard’s animals, particularly his conservation centered charges.

Authors

Gerard

Gerard is a Husbandry Specialist, working privately to develop quality, detailed captive breeding programs of carefully selected turtle and tortoise specimens in an effort to meet theTurtleRoom's conservation goals. He also provides raw media for use in the development of theTurtleRoom's educational resources. Gerard has been in love with reptiles, and especially chelonians, since childhood. He grew up running around the Florida wilderness catching turtles and started keeping turtles from a young age. When Russ Gurley's book, Keeping and Breeding Freshwater Turtles came out, Gerard became hooked more than ever before. He has been employed in reptiles since he started working and has spent time in almost every branch of the turtle hobby, from working for importers/exporters to zoos, and managing private collections for others. He spends his days working with turtles and has a special passion for the Batagur and softshell species, and has the goal of keeping and breeding each of these species. Gerard's wife and two kids (a son and a daughter), are the most important people in the world to him - they always come first. His other hobby, which he loves equally to turtles, is fishing. He and his dad can frequently be found together, either working with turtles or reeling in something big. Gerard is a member of the Turtle Survival Alliance and Turtle & Tortoise Preservation Group, as well as a member of many turtle, tortoise, and frog forums, including TortoiseForum.org, where he can frequently be found as gerards. You can contact him at [email protected].

Anthony Pierlioni

Anthony was the "Best of 2017" Editor's Choice for "Chelonia Personality of the Year" by The Reptile Report. As the Senior Director of theTurtleRoom, Anthony oversees the Animal Husbandry Department and all captive conservation programs. Anthony has also written a book on the Geoemyda genus, published by Living Art Publishing as part of their “Turtles of the World” series, and several articles in magazines such as including REPTILES, The BATAGUR, Testudo (Italian), and RADIATA (German). Anthony has a B.A. from Rhode Island College and works in management for VCA Animal Hospitals. He lives in the Northeast with his wife, Shannon, and daughters, Cambria and Maddalena. He and his family are often on the move, giving turtle presentations at schools, nature and science centers, herpetological societies and conferences.