Saturday, October 26, 2019

A new - and really shocking - electric eel discovered

The electric eel, while not technically an eel, has fascinated science and the public for centuries.  It's far from being the only electrcity-discharging fish (there are 250 more in South America alone, although they use their low electrical charges for things like signaling mates) but it's by far the most powerful.  It was always presumed to be a single species (Electrophorus electricus), but a new review of 107 specimens by American and Brazilian scientists has found there are three. One of the new ones, dubbed E. voltai, has upped the record for strongest known electrical discharge from the 650 volts known from E. electricus to 860!
The "eel" species are similar in appearance, but it was still surprising to find there were three. One scientist involved, C. David de Santana, said, "These fish grow to be seven to eight feet long. They're really conspicuous," he says. "If you can discover a new eight-foot-long fish after 250 years of scientific exploration, can you imagine what remains to be discovered in that region?"
Good question.
electirc eel

Electric eel E. electricus (image NOAA: a NOAA page reports they can grow to 10 feet, although no one source is perfect.)


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