Why does an electric eel generate electricity. Electric eel: description and features. How electric eels reproduce

People have always been attracted to amazing underwater inhabitants- dangerous, disturbing nerves that have unusual appearance and no less impressive abilities. Electric eel also belongs to this category - how many creatures are there that can generate electric discharges? This guest from South America, to the delight of aquarists, adapts well to living in home tanks, but how many decide to have such an extraordinary and controversial pet? And besides, future owners should find out in more detail whether all the stories about these harsh creatures are real or are they just horror stories?

For the first time information about these amazing creatures came to the Europeans from the Spanish conquerors. First detailed description dates back to 1729. Almost four decades later, based on the developments of the Dutch zoologist Jan Gronovius, the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus compiled a detailed description of the individuals and named them scientifically - gymnotus electricu.

These inhabitants should not be confused with eels, despite one name, they are not even relatives. Electric eels are representatives of the class of ray-finned fish.

It was difficult for naturalists to believe that underwater inhabitants were capable of striking using electrical discharges. Initially, there was an opinion that the eel does not shock, but “freezes” its prey. But in the summer of 1772, a member of the Royal Society, John Walsh, proved that the creatures really jam the victims with electric current.

According to research, electric eels exist for more than one millennium, and during this period they have adapted to living in hostile environment, they can survive even in silty, overgrown water bodies. More often these inhabitants are found in muddy fresh waters, without flow, which contain very little oxygen.

They breathe atmospheric air, therefore, in order to take a sip of air, eels must rise to the surface of the water every 10-15 minutes and capture another portion of air. If individuals cannot do this, then they suffocate and drown. But this ability has positive side- the eel is able to stay out of the aquatic environment for several hours. He will not die if his torso and mouth are wet.

Appearance and structural features

If we evaluate appearance these creatures, then they can hardly be called cute or pleasant, they look like fossil creatures from ancient times:

Electric eels live alone, most often they are at the bottom of a reservoir, hovering motionless among dense vegetation. They are nocturnal predators, showing maximum activity at night. The main diet consists of small fish, amphibians, crustaceans, and if the eel is lucky, then birds or small animals get into its “menu”. Like snakes, these creatures swallow their prey whole.

Unique features

According to scientists, in the ability of these fish to create electrical energy there is nothing out of the ordinary. Almost all living organisms do this to one degree or another. For example, the control of the human brain by muscle fibers is also carried out thanks to electrical signals.

The body of an eel generates electricity in the same way as the nerve and muscle fibers in the human body. Electrocyte cells accumulate energy charges extracted from food. Due to the synchronous generation of action potentials by them, a short electrical discharge is formed. Due to the fact that thousands of small charges formed by each cell are summed up, a voltage of up to 650 volts arises.

Eels are capable of emitting electrical discharges different strength, and each of them has its own purpose: an impulse can become defensive, occur during hunting, rest, or search activities of an individual. When an eel sinks to the bottom and rests quietly, its body does not emit any signals.

hunting impulses

A hungry individual begins to move slowly in the water, while generating weak impulses up to 50 volts, the duration of which does not exceed 2 ms. When the fish notices a possible prey, their frequency and amplitude increase to 300-600 volts, they last from 0.6 to 2 ms.

Thanks to such "messages" the hunter manages to paralyze the prey. To jam the fish, which make up the lion's share of the diet of these predators, they use high-frequency impulses. Breaks between discharges allow the eel to regain energy.

When the prey is immobilized, it goes to the bottom, and the fish, slowly, approaches it and swallows it completely. Then she needs rest - a period during which food must be digested.

Defense impulses

Enemies who want to "offend" electric eels will not be in trouble - these individuals use rare high-frequency impulses - 2-7 pieces, and 3 search ones with a small amplitude.

electrolocation

Thanks to the use of electric organs, representatives of this species not only hunt and defend themselves. They also use low power discharges up to 10 volts for electrolocation. By nature, these fish have poor eyesight, and as individuals age, it becomes much worse. Information about the environment comes to them in a different way - through electrical sensors located on their body.

In photographs taken under aquatic environment, these receptors are noticeable in individuals - an electric field begins to pulsate around a moving fish. As soon as an object appears near the creature, the shape of the field changes significantly. Activating special receptors, with which individuals catch the distortions of the electrofield created by them, they discover the road and the hiding victim in the muddy water environment.

Such incredible sensitivity can be called an excellent advantage, allowing fish to be more successful in hunting and protection than creatures that rely on more familiar visual, tactile and other organs.

Organs that generate electricity

Discharge generation with different power authorities various types, which occupy almost 80% of the length of the body of the fish. Among themselves, eels are able to communicate at a distance of up to seven meters.

Again, for this they emit a series of certain electrical impulses. The larger the individual, the more powerful its discharges; in meter-long individuals, their power does not exceed 350 volts. And this is quite enough to light half a dozen electric lamps.

Protecting acne from electric shocks

The electricity that eels generate when they are hunting can be as high as six hundred volts. This deadly weapon against the inhabitants of a small size - frogs, fish, crustaceans. More major representatives water world, such as caimans, anacondas and tapirs, do not rush to dangerous areas.

Why are these dangerous creatures able to strike other inhabitants, but do not suffer from deadly discharges themselves? It's all about the location of the vital organs of the fish, their brain and heart muscle are close to the head and have protection from fatty tissues that isolate them. The skin of individuals has a similar effect. Experts note that fish with damaged skin are most vulnerable to electric shocks.

In addition, another feature was revealed - when mating, individuals generate discharges with high power, but they do not harm the partner. Moreover, if this happens outside the mating season, the individual that received such a discharge may die. This confirms the fact that eels can activate and deactivate the system that protects them from electric current.

How electric eels reproduce

These inhabitants spawn, preferring to do so during the dry season. Couples are also reunited thanks to the impulses they actively send to mating season. The male is engaged in the construction of a secluded nest, he builds it from saliva. And the female lays up to 1700 eggs in it. Electric eels are caring parents and together take care of the offspring.

The hatched fry have a light ocher color, some individuals have marble stains. Those individuals that hatched before the rest eat the remaining eggs. The main diet of newly appeared offspring is small invertebrates.

The development of electrical organs in babies begins after the size of individuals reaches 40 mm. Small larvae can also generate current, but only with a very modest power - 3-4 tens of millivolts. If placed on the palm of a 2-4-day-old fry, a slight tingling sensation is felt. Individuals become independent, reaching 10-12 cm in length.

• a spacious aquarium, at least 3 meters long, one and a half to two meters deep;
• water of certain parameters: with a temperature of about 25 ° C, hardness from 11 to 13 mol / m³ and acidity - 7-8 pH.

Experts do not advise changing the water frequently, as this can cause ulceration on the skin of the fish and their subsequent death. The mucous membrane of acne includes antibacterial substances that protect the skin from ulcers, and with frequent changes of water, their concentration steadily decreases, the skin becomes vulnerable.

Eels are quite aggressive towards their fellows, even outside the spawning period, so it is not recommended to have more than one individual in one tank.

Should a person be afraid of this creature

Given all the information, and it often turns out to be false, electric eel is extremely dangerous creature capable of killing even an adult, physically strong person. But in fact, when receiving a discharge from a medium-sized individual, a person can lose consciousness, but an electric shock does not lead to death. The current of this creature causes the muscle tissue to contract and leads to its numbness. This unpleasant feeling can last for hours.

Large eels generate more current high voltage, and the consequences can indeed be critical. These predators do not give in even to larger animals. And if they are a few meters away from him, the eel prefers not to run away, but to go on the attack. Therefore, it is not worth approaching these creatures closer than three meters.

In some world cuisines, electric fish are considered a real delicacy, catching them is enough dangerous view activities. But locals showed ingenuity and are engaged in catching eels with the help of cows, since electric discharges practically do not affect them.

Shepherds lead their flocks into the water and wait for the alarmed, loudly mooing and rushing animals to calm down. Then the cattle is driven out of the reservoir and with the help of nets they catch individuals who have already spent their discharges. An electric eel is not able to constantly generate an electric current, and over time, the discharges weaken and completely stop.

Electric eel - dangerous predator, if we compare the number of his victims with the "successes" of piranhas, the latter lose 100%. Of course, not every owner will decide to have such an ambiguous pet, but if the desire does not weaken, you should first get acquainted with his habits and needs.

Photo of electric eels

Video about electric eels

Electric eel is the only representative of the genus of electrophores. A fish with a snake body is the very Electrophorus electricus. This fish lives in South America, preferring the predominantly muddy waters of the Amazon and Orinoco. The electric eel is found in stagnant, shallow, oxygen-depleted water.

Description of the electric eel

Electric eel has a pretty big sizes- the average body length is 2-2.5 meters, and some individuals reach 3 meters.

Electric eels weigh about 40 kilograms. The shape of the body is serpentine and the body is slightly compressed on the sides. The head is flat.

It is noteworthy that the electric eel completely lacks scales. The pectoral and caudal fins of the eel are very well developed, with their help the fish swims perfectly and can move in different directions. Color camouflage gray-brown, it helps during the hunt. The color of the head may differ from the general color and have an orange tint.

The unique feature of the electric eel

The name emphasizes the uniqueness of this fish, it is able to generate electricity. The body of an electric eel is covered with special cells that are connected by nerve channels.

At the very beginning of the body, the electric discharge is weak, but towards the tail it becomes stronger. Electric eel current is deadly not only for small fish but also big opponents.

The power of the electrical impulse of this fish is on average 350 V. For humans, such an electric shock is not fatal, but it can stun or cause loss of consciousness, so you should stay away from electric eel.

The electric eel has unique vascular tissue in its mouth, so it sometimes has to rise to the surface to take a breath of air. It can stay on the surface for more than 10 minutes, while no other species of fish stays in the air for more than 30 seconds.

Electric eel hunting

This predator attacks suddenly, it does not give in even to large prey. If there is any living creature near the eel, it shakes its body, as a result of which a charge is formed, with a power of 300-350 V, which instantly kills the prey that is nearby, as a rule, it is a small fish.

When the paralyzed prey sinks to the bottom, the electric eel slowly approaches it and swallows it whole. After eating food, he rests for a few minutes, digesting it.

Reproduction of electric eels

Very little is known about the reproduction of these fish. Scientists still don't fully understand life cycle electric eel. It is known that at a certain time, eels swim away to hard-to-reach places, and they appear already together with grown-up offspring.

Some scientists believe that male electric eels make a nest from saliva, and the female lays eggs in this nest. About 17 thousand small fish come out of one masonry. Individuals that were born first most often eat the rest of the eggs from the clutch.

Science does not know how the process of fertilization proceeds, where the development of young animals occurs and what the babies eat. But it is clear that an electric eel with a body length of 10-12 centimeters is considered an adult.

Interesting facts about electric eels

The eyesight of these fish is extremely weak, it is believed that with age they are generally unable to see, and they show activity mainly at night. They receive information about nearby obstacles using low-frequency wave locators;
The electric eel has nothing in common with the common eel. The electric eel is a representative of the class of ray-finned fish;
The electric eel has short teeth, so it does not chew food, but swallows it completely;
Predatory eels eat not only small fish, but also amphibians, birds, crustaceans and small mammals;
With the help of electric charges, individuals communicate with each other;
If you take a young electric eel, you can feel a slight tingling sensation;
Information about these fish appeared for the first time in the 17th century. Then they were considered unknown creatures of the Antilles Sea. But 100 years later, Alexander von Humboldt made a description of the electric eel.

The life of electric eels in an aquarium

The neighborhood of other eels and other fish species, alas, will not work, since the neighbors are unlikely to be able to tolerate the electrical discharges emitted by the eel. When the eel just swims, it emits discharges of 10-15 V, which act as electric navigation, but when the victim approaches it, the signal strength becomes much stronger.

Aeration in the home of an electric eel is not needed. The water temperature should not drop below 25 degrees, the acidity is maintained within 7-8, and the hardness is 11-13 degrees. Electric eels do not tolerate frequent water changes. It is believed that these fish create their own microclimate by accumulating antimicrobial substances that prevent them from getting sick, and if the water is changed too often, ulcers begin to develop on the surface of the eel's body.

A sandy substrate is created at the bottom of the reservoir; it is also allowed to use some pebbles. The amount of vegetation in an electric eel aquarium should be moderate, in addition, there should be driftwood, stones and caves.

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According to the results of experimental studies, it turned out that many fish can emit electrical discharges that are captured only by special sensitive devices. Such discharges are important in the behavior of fish, especially schooling ones. But special power-generating organs capable of creating electric fields with a tangible voltage have been noted in only about 250 species (according to Wikipedia). Electric eel is one of the few species that creates a very powerful discharge that can cause a serious electric shock to a person and even kill him. These eels, like electric catfish and, use this ability to hunt and protect themselves from enemies.

The secret of electric eels and other features

The main secret behind the name electric eel is that these fish have nothing to do with real eels, except for their superficial resemblance due to their very long, serpentine body shape. The scientific name of this species is Electrophorus electricus. In the fish system, it is in the Gymnotiformes order, which in the old editions of the book Animal Life was a suborder of the Carp order. One of the 4 families in this group is the Electric eel family, which includes single genus with one view due to its exceptional uniqueness.

Area of ​​distribution and lifestyle

These heat-loving fish are common in the basins of large South American rivers (Orinoco and Amazon). They prefer shallow low-flowing or stagnant, overgrown with vegetation, often silted water bodies (lakes, oxbow lakes, ponds). The water in such reservoirs is usually muddy and dirty.

Such conditions are characterized by a sharp lack of oxygen dissolved in water. Therefore, nature took care of the possibility of obtaining additional amounts of oxygen from eels. atmospheric air.

For this purpose in his oral cavity there are special areas of vascular tissue, permeated with a large number of blood vessels that function like a supragillary organ. In these areas, the blood is saturated with oxygen, that is, they act like lungs.

Breath

During the day, the electric eel usually lies at the bottom of its reservoir, but periodically rises to the surface of the water and, sticking out its wide mouth, draws in a certain amount of air. He does this quite noisily and immediately dives back into the water. Exhaled air exits through the gill slits. Thanks to this clearly audible breathing, local natives can easily recognize the presence of fish.

Swallow a new dose fresh air acne should at regular intervals of 15 minutes, but in reality they do it more often. Deprived of the opportunity to rise to the surface of the water for air, eels die.

Provided that the oral cavity and body of this unique fish electric eel is able to be out of water for several hours without compromising its health. This feature ensures their survival in those adverse conditions where they live.

Appearance and internal structure

Electrophorus electricus is a very large fish, reaching a length of up to two and a half meters or even more. highest weight- 20 kilograms. (Some sources give a figure of 40 kilograms, but we are guided by the information of the fishbase website.) The usual length of adult fish is from 1 to 1.5 meters.

Appearance description:

• The body is very long, rounded in cross-section behind the head and turning into compressed laterally in the tail.
• Half of the fins are missing - dorsal and ventral.
• The pectoral fins are very small, acting as stabilizers during movement.
• The anal fin is unusually developed. It is long: it has approximately 350 rays; starts almost immediately pectoral fins(behind the anus) and extends to the tip of the tail.
• Thick skin covered with mucus, naked, devoid of scales, covers not only the body, but also the fins.
• The eyes look very small relative to the body and are closer to the top of the head, due to which the visual focus is directed upwards. They are blue.
• The wide mouth is very large, it contains small teeth arranged in two rows. Their task is limited only to a strong capture and retention of prey. They are not adapted for chewing, so the eel swallows its food whole.

All these features of appearance are very clearly visible in the photo of the electric eel.

Camouflage color and swimming methods

Electrophorus electricus has a typical camouflage body color: adults are olive-brown with a brown tint, only the head below and in the area of ​​the gill covers is orange. The anal fin is colored in the same way as the entire body, only its edge may have a whitish edging. Young fish are colored a little lighter with an ocher tint.

The main driver of this amazing fish is an unusually long anal fin covered with soft skin. Located along the entire belly, it is a bit like the keel of a ship. It is aided by short pectoral fins.

By making wave-like movements with the anal fin and stabilizing the position of the body with the pectorals, it can swim straight or slightly arched. To the observer, it looks incredibly beautiful. If necessary, the electric eel deftly and quickly changes the direction of its path without turning around with its entire body. It simply begins to swim back with its tail due to a change in the direction of the undulation of its anal fin.

Generation of electrical discharges

The generation of electrical discharges of very high voltage is the main unique ability of electric eels, which has been the subject of research for many years by scientists. It was possible to find out that the electric organ is a pair of oblong-shaped bodies located immediately under thick skin and occupying 80% of the length of the entire body. They run along the entire spine, there are two pairs of them. As Brehm writes in the book Animal Life, these formations are gelatinous in consistency in the form of a soft translucent mass of reddish-yellow color. Their weight is 30 percent of the total weight of the fish.

A curious property of the mucus that abundantly covers the skin of an eel: its electrical conductivity is almost 30 times higher than that of clean water(from Brehm's book Animal Life).

In fact, the electric organ that Electrophorus electricus has is an original living battery, in which “minus” corresponds to the back of the body, and “plus” to the front. The electrical discharge generated by such a huge battery , can have a voltage of up to 600 volts and higher (in very large individuals), usually about 350 volts. Therefore, scientists classify the eel as a highly electric fish, and in this list it takes 1st place.

Based on the design of the energy-generating bodies of Electrophorus electricus, chemists and engineers (University of Michigan, USA) created a biocompatible battery with sufficient flexibility for successful implantation into living organisms as a power source for motorized implants. The batteries offered so far have not been biocompatible.

The discharges created are used for several purposes: protection, hunting, orientation in space, and alerting members of their species of their presence. Each goal is achieved with the help of discharges of various sizes - either weak or strong.

Nutrition and protection from enemies

Electric eels are predators that have almost no enemies in their natural environment. Juveniles eat invertebrates. Adults will eat any living thing they can find and grab. All aquatic inhabitants prefer not to approach them. Eels are a threat not only to fish, which form the basis of their diet, but also to lizards, turtles, frogs and even small mammals.

Only caimans pose a serious danger to the eels themselves. They cope with young and inexperienced caimans with the help of a good electrical discharge, having received which the reptile retreats. But an adult large black caiman can sometimes catch and eat an electric fish, remaining resistant to the shock received.

In the murky and dirty waters where eels live, vision is not an important tool for getting information about what is around, and for finding food too. Therefore, it is poorly developed in them, and as they grow older, as scientists suggest, it gets worse.

Hunting with Remote Electric Shock

The electric eel employs a unique hunting strategy using its electric discharges, which come in three types:

• Low-voltage pulses (for fish orientation in the environment of muddy water).
• A series of two or three short duration (fractions of milliseconds) high voltage impulses.
• Long-term sequence of high-voltage discharges.

These conclusions were made by zoologist Kenneth Catania (USA, Vanderbilt University) on the basis of laboratory observations of electric eels kept in an aquarium with special equipment.

hunting strategy

Eels hunt at night, and the hunting strategy consists of two stages:

• To detect hidden prey, they launch in all directions short series two or three high voltage pulses. The muscles of the fish that received such a discharge begin to contract, and it twitches, causing the water to vibrate with the movement of its body. This is enough for the eel, he immediately understands in which direction the prey is and swims there.
• When directly attacking a detected victim, an electric eel sends a multi-voltage discharge (350 and up to 600 volts) at a high frequency in its direction, which immobilizes it. Until the prey is paralyzed and the electric shock has not passed, the eel quickly grabs it and swallows it whole.

To immobilize prey detected with the help of short high-voltage discharges, eels use a remote electric shock, sending about 400 high-voltage pulses per second. In essence, they control the muscles of their victims, telling them to start moving or stop.

Tell me about electric fish. How much current do they produce?

Electric catfish.

Electric eel.

Electric Stingray.

V. Kumushkin (Petrozavodsk).

Among the electric fish, the championship belongs to the electric eel, which lives in the tributaries of the Amazon and other rivers of South America. Adult eels reach two and a half meters. Electric organs - transformed muscles - are located on the sides of the eel, extending along the spine for 80 percent of the entire length of the fish. This is a kind of battery, the plus of which is in the front of the body, and the minus is in the back. A live battery generates a voltage of about 350, and in the largest individuals - up to 650 volts. With an instantaneous current strength of up to 1-2 amperes, such a discharge is capable of knocking a person down. With the help of electrical discharges, the eel defends itself from enemies and earns its own food.

in the rivers Equatorial Africa there is another fish - electric catfish. Its dimensions are smaller - from 60 to 100 cm. Special glands that generate electricity make up about 25 percent of the total weight of the fish. Electric current reaches a voltage of 360 volts. There are known cases of electric shock in people who bathed in the river and accidentally stepped on such a catfish. If an electric catfish falls for a bait, then the angler can also receive a very noticeable electric shock that has passed through the wet fishing line and rod to his hand.

However, skillfully directed electrical discharges can be used in medicinal purposes. It is known that electric catfish took pride of place in the arsenal traditional medicine by the ancient Egyptians.

Electric skates are also capable of generating very significant electrical energy. There are more than 30 types of them. These sedentary inhabitants of the bottom, ranging in size from 15 to 180 cm, are distributed mainly in the coastal zone of tropical and subtropical waters of all oceans. Hiding at the bottom, sometimes half immersed in sand or silt, they paralyze their prey (other fish) with a current discharge, the voltage of which is at different types stingrays are from 8 to 220 volts. The stingray can cause a significant electric shock to a person who accidentally comes into contact with it.

In addition to electric charges of great strength, fish are also capable of generating low-voltage, weak current. Thanks to rhythmic discharges of weak current with a frequency of 1 to 2000 pulses per second, they perfectly orient themselves even in muddy water and signal each other about emerging danger. Such are the mormiruses and hymnarchs that live in the muddy waters of the rivers, lakes and swamps of Africa.

In general, as experimental studies have shown, almost all fish, both marine and freshwater, are capable of emitting very weak electrical discharges that can only be detected with the help of special instruments. These ranks play important role in the behavioral reactions of fish, especially those that are constantly kept in large flocks.

People have known about electric fish for a long time: back in Ancient Egypt used to treat epilepsy electric ramp, the anatomy of the electric eel gave Alessandro Volta the idea for his famous batteries, and Michael Faraday, the "father of electricity," used the same eel as scientific equipment. Modern biologists know what to expect from such fish (an almost two-meter eel can generate 600 volts), in addition, it is more or less known what kind of genes form such unusual feature- This summer, a group of geneticists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) published a work with a complete sequencing of the electric eel genome. The purpose of "electrical abilities" is also clear: they are needed for hunting, for orientation in space and for protection from other predators. Only one thing remained unknown - exactly how the fish use their electric shock, what strategy they use.

First, a little about the main character.

in mysterious and muddy waters The Amazon hides many dangers. One of them is the electric eel (lat. Electrophorus electricus) is the only member of the electric eel order. It is found in the northeast of South America and is found in small tributaries of the middle, as well as the lower reaches of the powerful Amazon River.

The average length of an adult electric eel is a meter and a half, although sometimes three-meter specimens are also found. This fish weighs about 40 kg. Her body is elongated and slightly flattened laterally. Actually, this eel does not really look like a fish: there are no scales, only caudal and pectoral fins, and plus everything, it breathes atmospheric air.

The fact is that the tributaries where the electric eel lives are too shallow and muddy, and the water in them is practically devoid of oxygen. Therefore, nature has awarded the animal with unique vascular tissues in the oral cavity, with the help of which the eel absorbs oxygen directly from the outside air. True, for this he has to rise to the surface every 15 minutes. But if an eel suddenly finds itself out of water, it can live for several hours, provided that its body and mouth do not dry out.

The color of electric coal is olive brown, which allows it to remain unnoticed by potential prey. Only the throat and lower part of the head are bright orange, but this is unlikely to help the unfortunate victims of the electric eel. As soon as he shudders with his whole slippery body, a discharge is formed, with a voltage of up to 650V (mostly 300-350V), which instantly kills all small fish nearby. The prey falls to the bottom, and the predator picks it up, swallows it whole and anoints itself nearby to rest a bit.

The electric eel has special organs, consisting of numerous electric plates - modified muscle cells, between the membranes of which a potential difference is formed. Organs occupy two-thirds of the body mass of this fish.

However, an electric eel can generate discharges with a lower voltage - up to 10 volts. Since he has poor eyesight, he uses them as a radar to navigate and search for prey.

Electric eels can be enormous, reaching up to 2.5 meters in length and 20 kilograms in weight. They live in the rivers of South America, for example, in the Amazon and Orinoco. They feed on fish, amphibians, birds and even small mammals.

Since the electric eel absorbs oxygen directly from the atmospheric air, it has to rise to the surface of the water very often. He should do this at least once every fifteen minutes, but it usually happens more often.

To date, there are few known cases of people dying after an encounter with an electric eel. However, numerous electrical shocks can lead to respiratory or heart failure, which can cause a person to drown even in shallow water.

His entire body is covered with special organs, which consist of special cells. These cells are sequentially connected to each other by means of nerve channels. In the front of the body "plus", in the back "minus". Weak electricity is formed at the very beginning and, passing successively from organ to organ, it gains strength in order to strike as efficiently as possible.

The electric eel himself believes that he is endowed with reliable protection, so he is in no hurry to give up even to a larger opponent. There were cases when eels did not give in even to crocodiles, and people should avoid meeting with them at all. Of course, it is unlikely that the discharge will kill an adult, but the sensations from it will be more than unpleasant. In addition, there is a risk of loss of consciousness, and if you are in the water, you can easily drown.

The electric eel is very aggressive, it attacks immediately and is not going to warn anyone of its intentions. The safe distance from a meter-long eel is at least three meters - this should be enough to avoid a dangerous current.

In addition to the main organs that generate electricity, the eel also has one more, with the help of which it reconnoiters the environment. This kind of locator emits low-frequency waves, which, returning, notify their owner of obstacles ahead or the presence of suitable living creatures.

Zoologist Kenneth Catania from Vanderbilt University (USA), observing electric eels that lived in a specially equipped aquarium, noticed that fish can discharge their battery in three different ways. The first is low-voltage impulses intended for orientation on the ground, the second is sequence of two or three high-voltage pulses lasting several milliseconds; finally, the third way is a relatively long burst of high-voltage and high-frequency discharges.

When an eel attacks, it sends a lot of volts to the prey at a high frequency (method number three). Three or four milliseconds of such processing is enough to immobilize the victim - that is, we can say that the eel uses a remote electric shock. Moreover, its frequency is much higher artificial devices: for example, the Taiser remote shocker delivers 19 pulses per second, while the eel - as many as 400. Having paralyzed the victim, he must, without wasting time, quickly grab it, otherwise the prey will come to its senses and swim away.

In an article in Science, Kenneth Catania writes that the "live stun gun" works in the same way as an artificial one, causing a strong involuntary muscle contraction. The mechanism of action was determined in a peculiar experiment, when a fish with a destroyed spinal cord was placed in an eel aquarium; they were separated by an electrically permeable barrier. The fish could not control the muscles, but they contracted themselves in response to electrical impulses from outside. (An eel was provoked to a discharge by throwing worms at it as food.) If a fish with a destroyed spinal cord was also injected with the nerve agent curare, then the electricity from the eel had no effect on it. That is, the target of electrical discharges was precisely the motor neurons that control the muscles.

However, all this happens when the eel has already determined its prey. And if the prey hid? By the movement of water, then you will no longer find it. In addition, the eel itself hunts at night, and at the same time cannot boast of good eyesight. To find prey, it uses discharges of the second kind: short sequences of two or three high-voltage pulses. Such a discharge imitates the signal of motor neurons, causing all the muscles of a potential victim to contract. The eel, as it were, orders her to find herself: a muscle spasm passes through the body of the victim, she begins to twitch, and the eel catches the vibrations of the water - and understands where the prey hid. In a similar experiment with a fish with a damaged spinal cord, it was separated from an eel by an already electrically impervious barrier, but the eel could feel the waves of water from it. At the same time, the fish was connected to a stimulator, so that its muscles contracted at the request of the experimenter. It turned out that if the eel emitted short “detection pulses”, and at the same time the fish was forced to twitch, then the eel attacked it. If the fish did not answer in any way, then the eel, of course, did not react to it in any way - he simply did not know where she was.