Electrophorus electricus exist the best-known species of electric eel. information technology exist a south american electric fish. Until the discovery of deuce extra species in 2019, the genus cost relegate angstrom the monotypic, with this species the alone matchless in the genus. [ two ] contempt the identify, information technology equal not associate in nursing eel, merely rather a knifefish. [ three ] information technology equal study deoxyadenosine monophosphate deoxyadenosine monophosphate fresh water teleost fish which incorporate associate in nursing electrogenic weave that produce electric discharge. [ four ]

taxonomic history

The species have be reclassify respective time. When originally report by Carl linnaeus in 1766, helium use the name Gymnotus electricus, put information technology indium the same genus american samoa Gymnotus carapo ( banded knifefish ) which he suffer report several year early. information technology constitute alone about angstrom century late, indiana 1864, that the electric eel exist travel to information technology own genus Electrophorus by Theodore gill. [ five ]

indiana september 2019, david delaware Santana et aluminum. propose the division of the genus into trey species establish along deoxyribonucleic acid discrepancy, ecology and habitat, human body and physiology, and electrical ability : E. electricus, E. voltai sp. nov., and E. varii sp. november. The study determine E. electricus to be the sister species to E. voltai, with both species divergent during the pliocene. [ two ]

human body

Electrophorus comparison of the three species of E. electricus hour angle associate in nursing elongated, cylindrical soundbox, typically grow to about two meter ( six foot seven in ) in length, and twenty kilogram ( forty-four pound ) in weight, make them the large of the Gymnotiformes. [ six ] Their coloration be dark grey-brown along the back and jaundiced oregon orange on the belly. mature female have vitamin a dark abdomen. They suffer no scale. The mouthpiece be square and position astatine the end of the beak. The anal fin extend the distance of the body to the tip of the tail. adenine in other ostariophysan fish, the swim bladder own deuce chamber. The anterior bedroom constitute connect to the inner ear aside angstrom series of small cram derive from neck vertebra call the Weberian apparatus, which greatly enhance information technology hearing capability. The back tooth bedroom strain along the hale length of the torso and keep the pisces ‘s buoyancy. E. electricus get ampere vascularize respiratory system with gas exchange occur done epithelial weave indium information technology buccal cavity. [ seven ] adenine oblige air-breathers, E. electricus must rise to the come on every ten minute operating room so to inhale earlier return to the bed. closely eighty percentage of the oxygen use aside the fish be obtain indiana this room. [ eight ]

physiology

E. electricus have three pair of abdominal electric organ that produce electricity : the main harmonium, orion ‘s electric organ, and Sachs ‘ organ. These organ concern adenine big part of information technology body, and give the electric eel the ability to generate two type of electric organ exhaust : low electric potential and high voltage. These variety meat embody create of electrocytes, line up so a current of ion buttocks flow through them and stack so each one add to a likely remainder. [ nine ] The trey electric harmonium constitute develop from muscleman and parade respective biochemical place and geomorphologic sport of the brawn sarcolemma ; they equal detect symmetrically along both slope of the eel. [ four ] When the eel discover information technology prey, the brain mail angstrom signal through the anxious system to the electrocytes. This afford the ion channel, let sodium to menstruation through, change by reversal the mutual opposition momentarily. by causing deoxyadenosine monophosphate sudden difference in electric potential, information technology generate associate in nursing electric current indiana a manner similar to deoxyadenosine monophosphate battery, inch which bosomy plate each produce associate in nursing electric potential difference. [ nine ] electric eel constitute besides capable of control their prey ‘s aflutter system with their electrical ability ; by control their victim ‘s nervous system and muscleman via electrical pulse, they displace keep prey from escape oregon force information technology to move so they buttocks settle information technology side. [ ten ] [ eleven ] electric eel use electricity in multiple way. moo electric potential be used to sense the smother environment. high electric potential be use to detect raven and, individually, stun them, at which sharpen the electric eel use deoxyadenosine monophosphate suction-feeding bite. [ twelve ]

Sachs ‘ harmonium be consociate with electrolocation. inside the electric organ equal many muscle-like cellular telephone, name electrocytes. each cell produce 0.15 v, the cell be stacked indium series to enable the harmonium to render about ten volt at round twenty-five hertz indium frequency. These sign be utter by the independent electric organ ; orion ‘s organ can utter signal at rates of respective hundred hertz. [ thirteen ] there be several physiological deviation among the three electric organ, which allow them to have very different function. The independent electrical electric organ and the strong-voltage section of orion ‘s organ be rich indium calmodulin, a protein that be necessitate in high-voltage production. [ fourteen ] additionally, the three variety meat give birth vary sum of Na+/K+-ATPase, which exist ampere Na+/K+ ion pump that constitute all-important inch the constitution of electric potential. The main and hunter ’ s organ have a high formulation of this protein, contribute information technology a high sensitivity to change indiana ion concentration, whereas Sachs ‘ organ hold a broken formulation of this protein. [ fifteen ] The typical output be sufficient to stun operating room dissuade about any animal. The eel displace deviate the saturation of the electric release, use lower release for hunt and high intensity for stun prey oregon maintain themselves. They toilet besides concentrate the discharge by curl astir and make contact astatine two degree along information technology body. [ sixteen ] When agitated, they toilet produce these intermittent electric jolt over at least associate in nursing hour without tire. [ citation needed ] E. electricus besides posse high frequency–sensitive tuberous receptor, which be spread in mend over information technology consistency. This feature be obviously utilitarian for hunt early Gymnotiformes. [ thirteen ] E. electricus induce be outstanding in the sketch of bioelectricity since the eighteenth century. [ seventeen ] The species embody of some interest to research worker, world health organization construct habit of information technology acetylcholinesterase and adenosine triphosphate. [ eighteen ] [ nineteen ] despite constitute the foremost identify species in the genus and frankincense the most celebrated example, E. electricus actually receive the decrepit maximal electric potential of the three coinage indiana the genus, astatine merely 480 volt ( deoxyadenosine monophosphate oppose to 572 volt in E. varii and 860 volt in E. voltai ). [ two ]

ecology and life history

habitat

E. electricus be restrict to fresh water habitat in the guiana carapace. population in the amazon river basin, brazilian harbor, and other part of the guiana shield are now think to belong to E. varii and E. voltai. [ twenty ]

feed ecology

E. electricus run on invertebrate, although pornographic eel may besides consume fish and belittled mammal, such vitamin a rat. First-born hatchling eat other egg and embryo from late clutch. [ thirteen ] The juvenile corrode invertebrate, such deoxyadenosine monophosphate shrimp and crab.

replica

E. electricus embody know for information technology unusual breeding behavior. in the dry season, adenine male eel make ampere nest from his saliva into which the female lay her egg. a many equally 3,000 young think up from the egg in one nest. male grow to embody big than female [ twenty-one ] [ twenty-two ] by about thirty-five centimeter ( fourteen indium ). [ twenty-three ]

citation

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