Just when you thought eels could n’t get any weirder , we ’ve gotshockingnews . It turns out electric eel ' power togenerateenough electricity to“light ” a Christmas treeisn’t the only thing that makes electrical eel slippery freaks – once you take a flavour at their anatomy , they make even less mother wit .
There are three specie of electric eel that make up the genusElectrophorus . Located in South America ’s Amazon and Orinoco rivers and their tributaries , the galvanizing eel ( Electrophorus electricus ) , Vari ’s galvanizing eel ( E. varii ) , and Volta ’s electric eel ( E. voltai ) are the world’sstrongest bioelectric generatorswith between 480 and 860 volt derive from the unlike mintage .
Closely link to catfish and carp , the three “ eels ” in this genus are actually knifefishes and are n’t true eels at all . Knifefish differ from true eels – like themoray eelandJapanese eel – for example by their power tobreathe line . That ’s right , despite have tiny gill that are only used to eliminate carbon copy dioxide , these Pisces get oxygen by using their prominent ol rima oris to breathe draught of air from the water system ’s surface .
The internal workings of the electric eel’s shocking “tail”.Image credit: VectorMine / Shutterstock.com
Electric eel anatomy
Even from the outside , these guys are weird - looking . Completely scaleless with grey - brown cutis , electric eel can raise up to around 2.4 meter ( 8 understructure ) long and weigh as much as 22 kilograms ( 48.5 pounds ) . With Volta ’s electrical eels having been observed generating860 voltsof electrical energy , they have the ability to cause some serious terms to those unlucky enough to be on the receiving ending .
With poor vision and inhabit waterlogged pool and river , electric eels rely on low - grade electrical pulses to communicate and navigate their environment using sore pores in their head and body .
Identifying a true eel from one of these electric sham can be done by observing the dorsal cinque . True eel have a long dorsal fin that run down the length of their upper body , while fake eels have no dorsal fin at all . What galvanising eels do have though , breath at the curiosity mill about within .
While true eels have acontinuousdorsal , anal retentive , and caudal fin that runs down the low consistency , starting around halfway or on the dispirited third ; electric eel ’s anal retentive fin runs from just below the head right down the entireness of the body . This is because the electric eel ’s anus is where its " neck " appear to be .
In fact , basically all of the electric eel ’s main organs sit down just below its head , with the sleep of its stupefying length being where it generate all its electricity . That means 80 percentage of an electric eel ’s body is dedicate to the three electronic organ it uses to return an electric charge , leaving just 20 percentage for all its critical variety meat and its sizeable head .
How they generate electricity
Electric eels are equipped with three specialized organs that allow them to generate electricity – the main organ , the Hunter ’s organ , and the Sach ’s pipe organ – which are all made up of change muscle cell . These organ domiciliate around 6,000electrocytes , which are specialised cells that can release electric direction in unison when the eel is hunting or defending itself .
attack target in a whip - similar motion , the majority of the electrical charge comes from the main organ and the Hunter ’s organ , which run down the length of the tail . Sach ’s pipe organ , located at the closing of the seat , produces the lowly - voltage pulses used in piloting and communicating .
“ galvanic eel are like living assault and battery , ” explains Dr Rupert Collins , Senior Curator of Fishes at theNatural History Museum , London . “ They have stacks of modified muscle cells called electrocytes that have both a positive and a negative side . When the cell are triggered , it discharges an electrical impulse into the skirt water . ”
While scientist do n’t hump on the dot how electrical eels avoid shocking themselves , they believe that the little pulses , lasting only around 2 millisecond , and the absorption from thesurrounding watermay decrease the effect of their potent electric charges .
So , galvanizing eel are mouth - breathing , 2 - meter - long living batteries that poop out of their “ neck opening ” , produce enough electricity to potentially shoot down a human if they wanted to , can lay1,700 eggsat a time , and are n’t even eel . Good hazard sleeping tonight .
