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An electric fish is any fish that can generate electric fields, whether to sense things around them, for defence, or to stun prey. Most fish able to produce shocks are also electroreceptive, meaning that they can sense electric fields. The only exception is the stargazer family (Uranoscopidae). Electric fish, although a small minority of all ...
Petrocephalinae. The Mormyridae, sometimes called "elephantfish" (more properly freshwater elephantfish), are a superfamily of weakly electric fish in the order Osteoglossiformes native to Africa. [1] It is by far the largest family in the order, with around 200 species. Members of the family can be popular, if challenging, aquarium species.
The electric rays are a group of rays, flattened cartilaginous fish with enlarged pectoral fins, composing the order Torpediniformes / t ɔːr ˈ p ɛ d ɪ n ɪ f ɔːr m iː z /.They are known for being capable of producing an electric discharge, ranging from 8 to 220 volts, depending on species, used to stun prey and for defense. [2]
An electric fish generates an electric field using an electric organ, modified from muscles in its tail. The field is called weak if it is only enough to detect prey, and strong if it is powerful enough to stun or kill. The field may be in brief pulses, as in the elephantfishes, or a continuous wave, as in the knifefishes.
In biology, the electric organ is an organ that an electric fish uses to create an electric field. Electric organs are derived from modified muscle or in some cases nerve tissue, called electrocytes, and have evolved at least six times among the elasmobranchs and teleosts. These fish use their electric discharges for navigation, communication ...
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 ...
Bonaparte, 1838. Genera and species. See text. The family Torpedinidae contains 22 species of electric rays or torpedoes, flat cartilaginous fishes that produce electricity as a defense and feeding mechanism. They are slow-moving bottom-dwellers. The largest species is the Atlantic torpedo, Tetronarce nobiliana, which can grow to a weight of 90 ...
The common torpedo (Torpedo torpedo), also known as ocellate torpedo or eyed electric ray, is a species of electric ray in the family Torpedinidae. It is found in the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean from the Bay of Biscay to Angola, and is a benthic fish typically encountered over soft substrates in fairly shallow, coastal waters.