Electric Eel

Electric Eel – Electrophorus (Genus)

Electrophorus electricus – Best known species of Electric Eel

Conservation status

Unlike Eel, the Electric Eel are assessed as Least Concern and Population Stable by the IUCN: ‘Due to it’s large distribution, its ability to occupy a variety of habitats, and the lack of any known major widespread threats to this species’.

Found in South America, the species is ‘restricted to the coastal drainages of the Guyanas, in Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana’ (IUCN) 2020

Overview

Electric Eels are nocturnal species that generally inhabit the muddy bottoms of rivers, streams, pools and swamps, favouring deeply shaded areas. They are a freshwater fish and can withstand poorly oxygenated water.

They have a  long, snake-like appearance with a flattened head, and reach  up to 8 feet in length. They are dark grey to brown on top with a yellow-orange underside.

Although they have small eyes and poor vision they have a unique 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 of the electric battery in 1800. (The electric organ of a fish is composed of long stacks of cells that look very much like a roll of coins. The Italian Physicist Alessandro Volta  cut out coinlike disks from sheets of various materials and started stacking them, in different sequences, to see if he could find any combination that would produce electricity. (source: the conversation.com)).

The electricity the Eels produce is generated from 3 electric organs and can be high or low voltage.

Electric Eels eat fish – in particular the Armoured Catfish. They have little commercial value to humans but are eaten occasionally by Amazon tribes.

Sources

Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_eel

IUCN - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/167700/53826515

The Conversation - https://theconversation.com/electric-eels-inspired-the-first-battery-two-centuries-ago-and-now-point-a-way-to-future-battery-technologies-178465