Electric Eel Facts
Electric Eel Facts
1. Found in South America in the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers and other nearby waterways.
2. The electric eel is the largest of the knifefish and can grow to be almost 8 feet (2.5 m) and weigh up to 60 lbs. (27 kg).
3. It is a long-bodied fish with a flattened, broad head. Its body is cylindrical toward the front, becoming compressed laterally toward the tail.
4. Its elongated, scaleless body is olive to black in color with a yellow or orange-hued throat region. It lacks a dorsal (top) fin, caudal (tail) fin, and pelvic (bottom) fins.
5. The electric eel has a large mouth with one row of cone-shaped teeth on each jaw.
6. Its electric organs consists of flattened columns of electroplates arranged in rows along its sides behind the head. The electroplates are composed of a series of hundreds of thousands of electrocyte cells.
7. The adult feeds on smaller fish as well as amphibians. The size of its prey increases with the eel’s size, as well as the power of its electrical shock, which is used to stun or kill its prey.
8. The electric eel is not aggressive. The primary use of its electric charge is for defense against potential predators or to immobilize and kill prey. It can produce a shock exceeding 500 volts.
9. The vital internal organs of this eel are compressed into the anterior (front) 1/8 of its body near its head. The rest of its body is the electricity-producing tail. Therefore, the longer the tail, the larger the electric discharge that can be generated.
10. It is an obligate air-breathing fish that absorbs 80 percent of its required oxygen by taking air in through the mouth. Vascular folds in the lining of the mouth absorb the oxygen. This air is later released through the gill slits in the form of bubbles.
11. The electric eel will drown if denied access to atmospheric air. However, as long as its skin is kept moist, it can survive for several hours out of the water.
12. This species is nocturnal. It hides during the day under shelter or in holes.
13. In addition to protection and stunning prey, the electric discharge is also used for navigation and social communication. The electric eel is able to create an electric field surrounding itself that compensates for its poor eyesight in its murky water habitat. This method is similar in nature to echolocation, which is used by bats and dolphins in their environments for similar purposes. By using its electric receptors, an eel can identify the transmissions of other non-electrical fish, as well as detect the heartbeat of other fish nearby. In addition, it may also be able to identify other electric eels in surrounding waters.
14. In order to produce the best “picture” of its surroundings, the eel must remain rigid. However, when an eel is in motion, it swims easily with a side-to-side movement aided by the use of its anal (bottom) fin that helps to propel the animal forward.
15. Eels are long-bodied, snake-like fishes that are usually scaleless and lack pelvic fins. The saying ‘as slippery as an eel’ refers to the copious supply of mucus that covers the body and makes them very difficult to grasp.
16. Eels have many more vertebrae and fewer bones in the face and jaw than do other fish. These structural features are associated with their habit of hiding in holes and crevices or burrowing in the sand, but some species are pelagic and swim in the open ocean.
17. Electric eels reproduce during the dry season. The nest is built by the male using his saliva. The female then deposits her eggs (up to 17,000) in the nest.
18. Electric eels are not eels at all! They are actually more closely related to the catfish. Due to its environment, the electric eel has made several adaptations to enable it to survive and thrive.
19. As the water quality is poor, the electric eel is an obligate air-breather. About every ten minutes, it will swim to the surface and gulp air. Due to the rich layer of blood vessels in its mouth, the oxygen is absorbed directly into the blood stream. It obtains 80% of its oxygen in this manner.
20. The electric eel is so named because it can discharge up to 600 volts of electricity! The electricity is generated by three pairs of organs and stored in battery-like cells awaiting discharge.
21. It uses a low voltage charge (10 volts) for communication and navigation but can discharge the full 600 volts to stun its prey or defend itself.
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