📷 Togabi · CC BY 2.5
📷 Stan Shebs
📷 by User:Stan Shebs
IUCN: Least Concern
Electric Eel
Electrophorus electricus
KingdomAnimalia›PhylumChordata›ClassActinopterygii›OrderGymnotiformes›FamilyGymnotidae›GenusElectrophorus
About
The electric eel is not a true eel but a knifefish capable of producing powerful electric discharges. It uses electricity for navigation, communication, stunning prey, and defense in murky waters. Because it must breathe air, it regularly surfaces even while living in oxygen-poor swamps and floodplains.
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Slow-moving rivers, floodplains, swamps, and oxbow lakes
🍃Diet Carnivore — fish, amphibians, birds, and small mammals
📏Size & Weight Body commonly 1–2 m
•weight Up to about 20 kg
⏳Lifespan 10–20 years
🗺Range Amazon and Orinoco basins of northern South America
Fish
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Slow-moving rivers, floodplains, swamps, and oxbow lakes
🍃Diet Carnivore — fish, amphibians, birds, and small mammals
📏Size & Weight Body commonly 1–2 m
•weight Up to about 20 kg
⏳Lifespan 10–20 years
🗺Range Amazon and Orinoco basins of northern South America
Photo Credits
#1Togabi · CC BY 2.5
#2Stan Shebs · CC BY-SA 3.0
#3by User:Stan Shebs · CC BY-SA 3.0
Related Species
