Electric fish

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Electric fish

An electric fish is a fish that can generate electric field

Electric field

In physics, the space surrounding an electric charge or in the presence of a time-varying magnetic field has a property called an electric field ....
s. It is said to be electrogenic; a fish that has the ability to detect electric fields is said to be electroreceptive. Most fish that are electrogenic are also electroreceptive. Electric fish species can be found both in the sea and in freshwater rivers of South America and Africa. Many fish such as shark

Shark

Sharks are a type of fish with a full Cartilage skeleton and a highly Streamlines, streaklines and pathlinesd body. They respire with the use of five to seven gill slits....
s, rays and catfish

Catfish

Catfish are a very diverse group of Actinopterygii fish. Named for their prominent barbel s, which resemble a cat's whiskers , catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest, the Pangasius gigas from Southeast Asia and the longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores , and even to a tiny parasite species commonly called the ca...
es can detect electric fields, and are thus electroreceptive, but as they cannot generate an electric field they are not classified as electric fish.

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Encyclopedia

An electric fish is a fish that can generate electric field

Electric field

Shark

Sharks are a type of fish with a full Cartilage skeleton and a highly Streamlines, streaklines and pathlinesd body. They respire with the use of five to seven gill slits....
s, rays and catfish

Catfish

Aquarium

An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. fishkeeping use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants....
or caught for food, are neither electrogenic nor electroreceptive.

Strongly and weakly electric fish

Electric fish produce their electric fields from a specialized structure called an electric organ

Electric organ

The electric organ is a muscle organ common to all electric fish used for the purposes of creating an electric field; a behavior used for navigation, communication or even incapacitation of prey....
. This is made up of modified muscle

MUSCLE

MUSCLE is public domain, multiple sequence alignment software for protein and nucleotide sequences.MUSCLE is integrated into UGENE bioinformatics tool as a plugin....
or nerve

Nerve

A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of Peripheral nervous system axons . A nerve provides a common pathway for the electrochemical nerve impulses that are transmitted along each of the axons....
cells, which became specialized for producing bioelectric fields stronger than those that normal nerves or muscles produce. Typically this organ is located in the tail of the electric fish. The electrical output of the organ is called the electric organ discharge (EOD).

Fish that have an EOD that is powerful enough to stun their prey are called strongly electric fish. The amplitude

Amplitude

Amplitude is the magnitude of change in the oscillating variable, with each oscillation, within an oscillating system. For instance, sound waves are oscillations in atmospheric pressure and their amplitudes are proportional to the change in pressure during one oscillation....
of the signal can range from 10 to 500 volt

Volt

The volt is the SI SI derived unit of electric potential difference or electromotive force, commonly known as voltage. It is named in honor of the Lombard physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery ....
s with a current of up to 1 ampere

Ampere

The ampere is the International System of Units unit of electric current. The ampere, in practice often shortened to amp, is an SI base unit, and is named after Andr?-Marie Amp?re, one of the main discoverers of electromagnetism....
. Typical examples are the electric eel

Electric eel

The electric eel, temblador Electrophorus electricus, is an electrical fish. It is capable of generating powerful electricity shocks, which it uses for both hunting and self-defense....
(Electrophorus electricus; not a true eel but a knifefish

Knifefish

Knifefish may refer to several knife-shaped fishes:* The Neotropical knifefishes, order Gymnotiformes, containing five families:** Family Gymnotidae ...
), the electric catfish

Electric catfish

Electric catfish is the common name for the catfish family Malapteruridae. This family includes two genus, Malapterurus and Paradoxoglanis with 19 species....
es (family Malapteruridae), and electric ray

Electric ray

The electric rays are a group of batoid, flattened cartilaginous fish with enlarged pectoral fins, that comprise the order Torpediniformes....
s (order Torpediniformes).

By contrast, weakly electric fish generate a discharge that is typically less than one volt in amplitude. These are too weak to stun prey, but are used for navigation, object detection (electrolocation) and communication with other electric fish (electrocommunication). Some of the best known and most studied examples are Peters' elephantnose fish

Peters' elephantnose fish

Peters' elephantnose fish is an elephantfish in the genus Gnathonemus. Other names in English include elephantnose fish, long-nosed elephant fish, and Ubangi mormyrid, after the Ubangi River....
(Gnathonemus petersi) and the black ghost knifefish

Black ghost knifefish

The black ghost knifefish, Apteronotus albifrons, is a tropical fish belonging to the ghost knifefish Family . They originate in South America in the Amazon Basin in Peru and from Venezuela through Paraguay in the Paran? Rivers....
(Apteronotus albifrons).

The EOD waveform takes two general forms depending on the species. In some species the waveform is continuous and almost sinusoidal

Sine wave

The sine wave or sinusoid is a function that occurs often in mathematics, physics, signal processing, hearing , electrical engineering, and many other fields....
(for example the genera Apteronotus, Eigenmannia and Gymnarchus) and these are said to have a wave-type EOD. In other species, the EOD waveform consists of brief pulses separated by longer gaps (for example Gnathonemus
Gnathonemus

Gnathonemus is a genus of fish in the Mormyridae family.It contains the following species:* longnose stonebasher * Peters' elephantnose fish...
, Gymnotus
Gymnotus

Gymnotus is the among the most species-rich group of electric knifefishes found in the Amazon basin. Some Gymnotus species live in the leaf litter and root tangles of river banks....
, Raja
Raja (genus)

Raja is a genus of skates in the family Rajidae....
) and these are said to have a pulse-type EOD.

Table of electric fish

This is a table of all known electric fish species within fresh water. There are two groups of marine fishes, the electric rays (Torpediniformes: Narcinidae and Torpedinidae) and the stargazers (Perciformes: Uranoscopidae) capable of generating strong electric pulses.

Taxon	Species (348)
Gymnotiformes Gymnotiformes The Gymnotiformes is a lineage of ostariophysan teleost electric fishes. Common names found in the literature include the Neotropical electric fishes, South American electric fishes, or American knifefishes....
Apteronotidae (46 species in 13 genera)	Adontosternarchus balaenops, Adontosternarchus clarkae, Adontosternarchus devenanzii, Adontosternarchus sachsi, Apteronotus albifrons, Apteronotus apurensis, Apteronotus bonapspeciesii, Apteronotus brasiliensis, Apteronotus caudimaculosus, Apteronotus cuchillejo, Apteronotus cuchillo, Apteronotus ellisi, Apteronotus eschmeyeri, Apteronotus jurubidae, Apteronotus leptorhynchus, Apteronotus macrolepis, Apteronotus macrostomus, Apteronotus magdalenensis, Apteronotus marauna, Apteronotus mariae, Apteronotus rostratus, Apteronotus spurrellii, Compsaraia compsa, Magosternarchus duccis, Magosternarchus raptor, Megadontognathus cuyuniense, Megadontognathus kaitukaensis, Orthosternarchus tamandua Orthosternarchus tamandua *Orthosternarchus tamandua* is a species of weakly electric fish knifefish in the family Apteronotidae, native to the deep river channels of the Amazon River system.... , Parapteronotus hasemani, Platyurosternarchus macrostomus, Porotergus gimbeli, Porotergus gymnotus, Sternarchella curvioperculata, Sternarchella orthos, Sternarchella schotti Sternarchella schotti *Sternarchella schotti* is a species of weakly electric fish knifefish in the family Apteronotidae. This species is found in the Amazon River basin, and is often kept in aquariums.... , Sternarchella sima, Sternarchella terminalis, Sternarchogiton nattereri Sternarchogiton nattereri *Sternarchogiton nattereri* is a species of weakly electric fish Gymnotiformes in the family Apteronotidae. It is native to the Amazon River system and feeds on sponges.... , Sternarchogiton porcinum Sternarchogiton porcinum *Sternarchogiton porcinum* is a species of weakly electric fish knifefish in the family Apteronotidae. It is native to deep river channels in the Huallaga River, R?o Napo, and Amazonas Region in Peru, and in the R?o Orinoco in Venezuela.... , Sternarchorhamphus muelleri, Sternarchorhynchus britskii, Sternarchorhynchus curvirostris, Sternarchorhynchus mesensis, Sternarchorhynchus mormyrus, Sternarchorhynchus oxyrhynchus, Sternarchorhynchus roseni
Gymnotidae (29 species in 1 genus)	Gymnotus anguillaris, Gymnotus arapaima, Gymnotus ardilai, Gymnotus bahianus, Gymnotus carapo, Gymnotus cataniapo, Gymnotus choco, Gymnotus coatesi, Gymnotus coropinae, Gymnotus cylindricus, Gymnotus diamantinensis, Gymnotus esmeraldas, Gymnotus henni, Gymnotus inaequilabiatus, Gymnotus javari, Gymnotus jonasi, Gymnotus maculosus, Gymnotus mamiraua, Gymnotus melanopleura, Gymnotus onca, Gymnotus panamensis, Gymnotus pantanal, Gymnotus pantherinus, Gymnotus paraguensis, Gymnotus pedanopterus, Gymnotus stenoleucus, Gymnotus sylvius, Gymnotus tigre, Gymnotus ucamara
Electrophoridae (1 species in 1 genus)	Electrophorus electricus
Hypopomidae Hypopomidae Hypopomidae is a family of fishes in the order Gymnotiformes known as the bluntnose knifefish. They may also be called grass or leaf knifefishes.... (14 species in 7 genera)	Brachyhypopomus beebei, Brachyhypopomus brevirostris, Brachyhypopomus diazi, Brachyhypopomus janeiroensis, Brachyhypopomus occidentalis, Brachyhypopomus pinnicaudatus, Hypopomus speciesedi, Hypopygus lepturus, Hypopygus neblinae, Microsternarchus bilineatus, Racenisia fimbriipinna, Steatogenys duidae, Steatogenys elegans, Stegostenopos cryptogenes
Rhamphichthyidae Rhamphichthyidae Sand knifefishes are freshwater fishes of the Rhamphichthyidae family , from South America. There are only 3 genus and around 15 species in this group.... (15 species in 3 genera)	Gymnorhamphichthys hypostomus, Gymnorhamphichthys petiti, Gymnorhamphichthys rondoni, Gymnorhamphichthys rosamariae, Iracema caiana, Rhamphichthys apurensis, Rhamphichthys atlanticus, Rhamphichthys drepanium, Rhamphichthys hahni, Rhamphichthys lineatus, Rhamphichthys longior, Rhamphichthys marmoratus, Rhamphichthys pantherinus, Rhamphichthys rostratus, Rhamphichthys schomburgki
Sternopygidae (28 species in 5 genera)	Archolaemus blax, Distocyclus conirostris, Distocyclus goajira, Eigenmannia humboldtii, Eigenmannia limbata, Eigenmannia macrops, Eigenmannia microstoma, Eigenmannia nigra, Eigenmannia trilineata, Eigenmannia vicentespelaea, Eigenmannia virescens, Rhabdolichops caviceps, Rhabdolichops eastwardi, Rhabdolichops electrogrammus, Rhabdolichops jegui, Rhabdolichops stewspeciesi, Rhabdolichops troscheli, Rhabdolichops zareti, Sternopygus aequilabiatus, Sternopygus arenatus, Sternopygus astrabes, Sternopygus branco, Sternopygus castroi, Sternopygus dariensis, Sternopygus macrurus, Sternopygus obtusirostris, Sternopygus pejeraton, Sternopygus xingu
Osteoglossiformes Osteoglossiformes Osteoglossiformes is a relatively primitive order of ray-finned fish that contains two sub-orders, the Osteoglossoidei and the Notopteroidei. All of the living species inhabit freshwater....
Gymnarchidae (1 species in 1 genus)	Gymnarchus niloticus Gymnarchus niloticus *Gymnarchus niloticus, commonly known as the aba, aba aba, frankfish, or African knifefish, is the only species in the family Gymnarchidae* within the order Osteoglossiformes....
Mormyridae Mormyridae The family Mormyridae, sometimes called "elephantfish" , are freshwater fish in the order Osteoglossiformes native to Africa. It is by far the largest family in the order with around 200 species.... (203 species in 18 genera)	Boulengeromyrus knoepffleri, Brienomyrus adustus, Brienomyrus brachyistius, Brienomyrus curvifrons, Brienomyrus hopkinsi Brienomyrus hopkinsi *Brienomyrus hopkinsi, also called Brienomyrus hopkinsi Taverne & Thys van den Audenaerde 1985, is a species of freshwater electric fish.... , Brienomyrus kingsleyae eburneensis, Brienomyrus kingsleyae kingsleyae, Brienomyrus longianalis, Brienomyrus longicaudatus, Brienomyrus niger, Brienomyrus sphekodes, Brienomyrus tavernei, Campylomormyrus alces, Campylomormyrus bredoi, Campylomormyrus cassaicus, Campylomormyrus christyi, Campylomormyrus curvirostris, Campylomormyrus elephas, Campylomormyrus luapulaensis, Campylomormyrus mirus, Campylomormyrus numenius, Campylomormyrus orycteropus, Campylomormyrus phantasticus, Campylomormyrus rhynchophorus, Campylomormyrus tamandua, Campylomormyrus tshokwe, Genyomyrus donnyi, Gnathonemus barbatus, Gnathonemus echidnorhynchus, Gnathonemus longibarbis, Gnathonemus petersii, Heteromormyrus pauciradiatus, Hippopotamyrus aelsbroecki, Hippopotamyrus ansorgii, Hippopotamyrus batesii, Hippopotamyrus castor, Hippopotamyrus discorhynchus, Hippopotamyrus grahami, Hippopotamyrus harringtoni, Hippopotamyrus macrops, Hippopotamyrus macroterops, Hippopotamyrus pappenheimi, Hippopotamyrus paugyi, Hippopotamyrus pictus, Hippopotamyrus psittacus, Hippopotamyrus retrodorsalis, Hippopotamyrus smithersi, Hippopotamyrus szaboi, Hippopotamyrus weeksii, Hippopotamyrus wilverthi, Hyperopisus bebe bebe, Hyperopisus bebe occidentalis, Isichthys henryi, Ivindomyrus opdenboschi, Marcusenius rhodesianus, Marcusenius sanagaensis, Marcusenius schilthuisiae, Marcusenius senegalensis gracilis, Marcusenius senegalensis pfaffi, Marcusenius senegalensis senegalensis, Marcusenius stanleyanus, Marcusenius thomasi, Marcusenius ussheri, Marcusenius victoriae, Marcusenius abadii, Marcusenius annamariae, Marcusenius bentleyi, Marcusenius brucii, Marcusenius cuangoanus, Marcusenius cyprinoides, Marcusenius deboensis, Marcusenius dundoensis, Marcusenius friteli, Marcusenius furcidens, Marcusenius fuscus, Marcusenius ghesquierei, Marcusenius greshoffii, Marcusenius intermedius, Marcusenius kutuensis, Marcusenius leopoldianus, Marcusenius livingstonii Marcusenius livingstonii Marcusenius livingstonii* is a species of fish in the Mormyridae family. It is found in Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Its natural habitats are rivers, intermittent rivers, and freshwater lakes.... , Marcusenius macrolepidotus angolensis, Marcusenius macrolepidotus macrolepidotus, Marcusenius macrophthalmus, Marcusenius mento, Marcusenius meronai, Marcusenius monteiri, Marcusenius moorii, Marcusenius ntemensis, Marcusenius nyasensis, Marcusenius rheni, Mormyrops anguilloides, Mormyrops attenuatus, Mormyrops batesianus, Mormyrops breviceps, Mormyrops caballus, Mormyrops citernii, Mormyrops curtus, Mormyrops curviceps, Mormyrops engystoma, Mormyrops furcidens, Mormyrops intermedius, Mormyrops lineolatus, Mormyrops mariae, Mormyrops masuianus, Mormyrops microstoma, Mormyrops nigricans, Mormyrops oudoti, Mormyrops parvus, Mormyrops sirenoides, Mormyrus bernhardi, Mormyrus caballus asinus, Mormyrus caballus bumbanus, Mormyrus caballus caballus, Mormyrus caballus lualabae, Mormyrus casalis, Mormyrus caschive Mormyrus caschive *Mormyrus caschive* is a species of fish in the Mormyridae family. It is Endemism to Uganda. Its natural habitat is freshwater lakes.... , Mormyrus cyaneus, Mormyrus felixi, Mormyrus goheeni, Mormyrus hasselquistii, Mormyrus iriodes, Mormyrus kannume, Mormyrus lacerda, Mormyrus longirostris, Mormyrus macrocephalus Mormyrus macrocephalus *Mormyrus macrocephalus* is a species of fish in the Mormyridae family. It is Endemism to Uganda. Its natural habitats are rivers and freshwater lakes.... , Mormyrus macrophthalmus, Mormyrus niloticus, Mormyrus ovis, Mormyrus rume proboscirostris, Mormyrus rume rume, Mormyrus subundulatus, Mormyrus tapirus, Mormyrus tenuirostris, Mormyrus thomasi, Myomyrus macrodon, Myomyrus macrops, Myomyrus pharao, Oxymormyrus boulengeri, Oxymormyrus zanclirostris, Paramormyrops gabonensis, Paramormyrops jacksoni, Petrocephalus ansorgii, Petrocephalus balayi, Petrocephalus bane bane, Petrocephalus bane comoensis, Petrocephalus binotatus, Petrocephalus bovei bovei, Petrocephalus bovei guineensis, Petrocephalus catostoma catostoma, Petrocephalus catostoma congicus, Petrocephalus catostoma haullevillei, Petrocephalus catostoma tanensis, Petrocephalus christyi, Petrocephalus cunganus, Petrocephalus gliroides, Petrocephalus grandoculis, Petrocephalus guttatus, Petrocephalus hutereaui, Petrocephalus keatingii, Petrocephalus levequei, Petrocephalus microphthalmus, Petrocephalus pallidomaculatus, Petrocephalus pellegrini, Petrocephalus sauvagii, Petrocephalus schoutedeni, Petrocephalus simus, Petrocephalus soudanensis, Petrocephalus squalostoma, Petrocephalus sullivani, Petrocephalus tenuicauda, Petrocephalus wesselsi, Pollimyrus adspersus, Pollimyrus brevis, Pollimyrus castelnaui, Pollimyrus isidori fasciaticeps, Pollimyrus isidori isidori, Pollimyrus isidori osborni, Pollimyrus maculipinnis, Pollimyrus marchei, Pollimyrus nigricans, Pollimyrus nigripinnis, Pollimyrus pedunculatus, Pollimyrus petherici, Pollimyrus petricolus, Pollimyrus plagiostoma, Pollimyrus pulverulentus, Pollimyrus schreyeni, Pollimyrus stappersii kapangae, Pollimyrus stappersii stappersii, Pollimyrus tumifrons, Stomatorhinus ater, Stomatorhinus corneti, Stomatorhinus fuliginosus, Stomatorhinus humilior, Stomatorhinus kununguensis, Stomatorhinus microps, Stomatorhinus patrizii, Stomatorhinus polli, Stomatorhinus polylepis, Stomatorhinus puncticulatus, Stomatorhinus schoutedeni, Stomatorhinus walkeri
Siluriformes
Malapteruridae (11 species in 1 genus)	Malapterurus beninensis, Malapterurus cavalliensis, Malapterurus electricus, Malapterurus leonensis, Malapterurus microstoma, Malapterurus minjiriya, Malapterurus monsembeensis, Malapterurus oguensis, Malapterurus shirensis, Malapterurus tanganyikaensis, Malapterurus tanoensis
Perciformes Perciformes The Perciformes, also called the Percomorphi or Acanthopteri, include about 40% of all bony fish and are the largest order of vertebrata....
Uranoscopidae (50 species in 8 genera)	Astroscopus guttatus, Astroscopus y-graecum, Astroscopus zephyreus, Gnathagnus egregius, Kathetostoma albigutta, Kathetostoma averruncus

External links

Electric Fish, Mark E. Nelson, Beckman Institute Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a public university research university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the oldest and largest campus in the University of Illinois system....
, Accessed 11/2006,
- Male fish can amp up their electric fields to woo females and intimidate rivals, LiveScience.com, 29 February 2008