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The electric eels are a genus, Electrophorus, of neotropical freshwater fish from South America in the family Gymnotidae. They are known for their ability to stun their prey by generating electricity, delivering shocks at up to 860 volts. Their electrical capabilities were first studied in 1775, contributing to the invention in 1800 of the ...
Electrophorus electricus is the best-known species of electric eel. It is a South American electric fish. Until the discovery of two additional species in 2019, the genus was classified as the monotypic, with this species the only one in the genus. [2] Despite the name, it is not an eel, but rather a knifefish. [3]
It closely resembles E. electricus but differs in skull morphology, including having a depressed skull and a wide head. It has a maximum voltage of 860 volts, making it not only the strongest bioelectricity generator of the three electric eel species, but also of any animal. [3] Males get larger than females by about 35 cm (14 in).
The electric discharge pattern of bluntnose knifefishes is similar to the low voltage electrolocative discharge of the electric eel. This is thought to be a form of bluffing Batesian mimicry of the powerfully protected electric eel. [28] Fish that prey on electrolocating fish may "eavesdrop" [29] on the discharges of their prey to detect them.
Electroreception and electrogenesis are the closely related biological abilities to perceive electrical stimuli and to generate electric fields. Both are used to locate prey; stronger electric discharges are used in a few groups of fishes (most famously the electric eel, which is not actually an eel but a knifefish) to stun prey.
History of bioelectricity. The history of bioelectricity dates back to ancient Egypt, where the shocks delivered by the electric catfish were used medicinally. In the 18th century, the abilities of the torpedo ray and the electric eel were investigated by scientists including Hugh Williamson and John Walsh.
It was previously classified within Electrophorus electricus when that species was considered the only one in the genus Electrophorus, but a 2019 analysis described it and E. voltai as distinct species based on both their deep genetic divergences and differences in the voltage produced by each species.
Type species. Gymnotus carapo. Linnaeus, 1758. Despite the name, the electric eel is a type of knifefish. The Gymnotiformes / dʒɪmˈnɒtɪfɔːrmiːz / are an order of teleost bony fishes commonly known as Neotropical knifefish or South American knifefish. They have long bodies and swim using undulations of their elongated anal fin.