Electric Eel
Electrophorus electricus
CommonPhoto: Steven G. Johnson · CC BY-SA 3.0
Fishcarnivore
The electric eel is a shocking resident of South America's rivers. Though called an eel, it's actually a type of knifefish that can generate powerful electric pulses. Its unique electricity-producing organs make it one of nature's most unusual freshwater fish.
- Generates electricity using specialized organs in its body
- Was the only known electric eel species until 2019
- Despite its name, is more closely related to catfish than true eels
FreshwaterWetlandSouth America
Read more on WikipediaAt a glance
- Classification
- Fish
- Scientific name
- Electrophorus electricus
- Habitat
- Freshwater, Wetland
- Regions in this directory
- South America
- Diet
- carnivore
- Relative size
- large
- IUCN Red List
- Least Concern (LC)
