#Line drawing of fish generator#

The three species have largely non-overlapping distributions in the northern part of South America. voltai may have split around 3.6 mya during the Pliocene. varii appears to have diverged from the other species around 7.1 mya during the late Miocene, while E. Sabaj, Dillman, Mendes-Júnior and Castro e Castro, 2019 Compared to the other two species, this one has a thicker skull and cleithrum but the head shape is more variable. Electrophorus varii de Santana, Wosiacki, Crampton, Mark H.electricus, this species has a flattened skull and cleithrum but the head is more egg-shaped.

#Line drawing of fish generator#

Sabaj, Dillman, Castro e Castro, Bastos and Vari, 2019 This species is the strongest bioelectricity generator in nature, capable of generating 860 V. Electrophorus voltai de Santana, Wosiacki, Crampton, Mark H.

Electrophorus electricus ( Linnaeus, 1766) This, the type species, has a U-shaped head, with a flattened skull and cleithrum.

There are three described species in the genus, not differing significantly in body shape or coloration: Fish able to deliver electric shocks are marked with a red lightning flash. Actively electrolocating fish are marked with a small yellow lightning flash. Their relationships, as shown in the cladogram, were analysed by sequencing their mitochondrial DNA in 2019. Most knifefishes are weakly electric, capable of active electrolocation but not of delivering shocks. The lineage of the Electrophorus genus is estimated to have split from its sister taxon Gymnotus sometime in the Cretaceous. Electric eels are thus not closely related to the true eels (Anguilliformes). Phylogeny Įlectric eels form a clade of strongly electric fishes within the order Gymnotiformes, the South American knifefishes. electricus (now in a narrower sense than before), and the two new species E. electricus into three species based on DNA divergence, ecology and habitat, anatomy and physiology, and electrical ability. David de Santana and colleagues divided E. In 1998, Albert and Campos-da-Paz lumped the Electrophorus genus with the family Gymnotidae, alongside Gymnotus, as did Ferraris and colleagues in 2017. In 1872, Gill decided that the electric eel was sufficiently distinct to have its own family, Electrophoridae. The name is from the Greek ήλεκτρον (' ḗlektron', amber, a substance able to hold static electricity), and ϕέρω (' phérō', I carry), giving the meaning 'electricity bearer'.

In 1864, Theodore Gill moved the electric eel to its own genus, Electrophorus. He noted that the fish is from the rivers of Surinam, that it causes painful shocks, and that it had small pits around the head. When the species now defined as Electrophorus electricus was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1766, based on early field research by Europeans in South America and specimens sent back to Europe for study, he used the name Gymnotus electricus, placing it in the same genus as Gymnotus carapo (the banded knifefish). Some captive specimens have lived for over 20 years. Electric eels grow for as long as they live, adding more vertebrae to their spinal column. They are nocturnal, obligate air-breathing animals, with poor vision complemented by electrolocation they mainly eat fish. In 2019, electric eels were split into three species: for more than two centuries before that, the genus was believed to be monotypic, containing only Electrophorus electricus. This order is more closely related to catfish. Their electrical capabilities were first studied in 1775, contributing to the invention in 1800 of the electric battery.ĭespite their name, electric eels are not closely related to the true eels ( Anguilliformes) but are members of the electroreceptive knifefish order, Gymnotiformes. They are known for their ability to stun their prey by generating electricity, delivering shocks at up to 860 volts. The electric eels are a genus, Electrophorus, of neotropical freshwater fish from South America in the family Gymnotidae. Electrophorus multivalvulus Nakashima 1941.