Electric eel (a photo of it can be seen in this article) belongs to the class Bone fish from the family Electric eels. It lives in the middle and lower tributaries of the Amazon and in small rivers of northeast South America. This is a large fish, its average length is from 1 to 1.5 m, but there are also three-meter individuals weighing up to 40 kg.
Electric eels have a scaly, naked snake-like body that is covered with a thin layer of mucus and is somewhat compressed laterally in the back. Color can be called camouflage. In young individuals, it is homogeneous, olive-brown, and adults have a bright orange color on the underside of the head and on the throat. The eyes are small, in the mouth there is one row of small teeth. The ventral and dorsal fins are absent, the pectoral fins are very small, only the anal fin is well developed. It is with its help that electric eel floats perfectly in all directions. The fishing place is the bottom of the river, where he prefers to lie among algae. There you need to catch eel.
Usually in its habitats the waters are cloudy, slow flowing with a minimum oxygen content. Therefore, these fish in the mouth have special zones of vascular tissue, allowing them to absorb oxygen from atmospheric air. In other words, electric eels are forced from time to time to rise to the surface of the water for several minutes to get a portion of fresh air.
Why are they called electric? The fact is that this type is capable of generating discharges of electricity. Usually one such discharge is 350 V, but especially large individuals are capable of producing a voltage of up to 650 V, which is dangerous even for humans. How does this happen? Electric acne has a special organ that occupies most of their body and consists of special cells. They are interconnected in a sequential order by the branches of nerves. Plus is located in front of the body, and minus in the back. Weak electric charges are created at the beginning of the body, and at the end of their path they are added up, and their power increases several times. This fish is also called a live battery.
The discharge of a large individual is able to stun even a respectable opponent. Although it is worth noting that electric eels mainly feed on small fish. So why do they need such power? I must say that this species remains poorly understood to date, for example, it is still not known how they breed. And such discharges are most likely necessary for self-defense, because for hunting they use no more than 300 V. After stunning or killing the fish in this way, the eels sink to the bottom behind it and swallow it whole there.
In addition to the described electric organs, this type of acne has another additional one that acts as a locator. With its help, fish emit location low-frequency discharges. They come back from the barriers ahead and possible prey and, thus, eels get the information they need. They attack without warning and even in case of danger do not try to hide. Therefore, if a similar eel appeared on your way, it is better to be the first to give way to it, especially a large individual. Perhaps his electric discharge will not kill you, but you can completely lose consciousness from him. So it would be wiser to retreat to a safe distance.
