Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Electric ray
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Electric rays | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Torpedo fuscomaculata
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Families | ||||||||||||
Electric rays (order Torpediniformes) are fish that have a rounded body and a pair of organs capable of producing an electric discharge, varying from as little as 8 volts to up to 220 volts depending on the species, which is used to stun or kill prey. There are 69 species in four families. [1]
Perhaps the most known members are those of the genus Torpedo, also called crampfish and numbfish, after which the device called a torpedo is named. The name comes from the Latin "torpere", to be stiffened or paralyzed, referring to the effect on someone who handles or steps on a living electric ray.
Torpedo rays are excellent swimmers. Their round disk shaped bodies allow them to remain suspended in the water or roam for food with minimal swimming effort.
The electric ray's grey colour provides a good cover and makes it hard to distinguish it from the sandy ocean bottom. It can be found off the shores of the Gulf of Mexico.
Contents |
The electrical shocks of the torpedo fish did not go unnoticed by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Scribonius Largus, a Roman physician, recorded the use of torpedo fish for treatment of headache and gout (Compositiones Medicae,46 AD).
- Marbled electric ray, Torpedo sinusperisici
- Atlantic torpedo ray, Torpedo nobiliana
- Pacific electric ray, Torpedo californica
- Lesser electric ray, Narcine brasiliensis
- Blind electric ray, Typhlonarke aysoni