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    Question ID:   4578         Current Version: 2
Question: Do you know anything about electric fish?
Category: Science > Zoology
Keywords: generate, electric, discharge, fish
Type: other
Rating:(0 ratings)    Views: 431    Discussions: 0   In Watch Lists: 2  

 
    Answer:
An electric fish is a fish that can generate or detect electric currents. An electrogenic fish can generate electric fields while an electroreceptive fish can only detect or sense electric fields.

The organ of the fish that produces the electricity is called an "electric organ". The electric organ generates electric discharges (EOD: Electric Organ Discharge) and use them to

  • stun prey or predators
  • communicate with other fishes
  • detect prey
  • sense surrounding objects

The electric ogran of an electric fish is made of muscle or nerve cells that specializes in producting electric fields. The majority of electric fishes have their electric organ in their tails.

There are three categories of electric fishes:

Strongly electric fish

  • electric eel
  • electric catfish
  • electric rays

Weakly electric fish

  • knife fishes
  • elephant nose

Fishes that can only sense electricity

  • sharks
  • most rays
  • skates
  • most catfish
  • paddlefish

A strong electric fish can generate an EOD in a range from about 10 to 150 volts and is powerful enough to stun their prey. A weakly electric fish can only produce an EOD that is less than one volt in amplitude and the electricity is used for navigation and communication.

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