Quick Facts
- Type
- Fish
- Size
- 1.5–2.5 m long
- Weight
- Up to about 20 kg
- Habitat
- Murky rivers and floodplains of South America
- Diet
- Fish, amphibians, and invertebrates
- Active Time
- Mainly nocturnal
- Lifespan
- About 15 years
Field Notes
- An electric eel can deliver a shock of around 600 volts to stun prey.
- It is actually a knifefish, more closely related to catfish than to true eels.
- It must surface every few minutes to breathe air through its mouth.
About the Electric Eel
The electric eel is not a true eel but a kind of knifefish from the rivers and floodplains of northern South America. It can generate strong electric discharges, with the largest species delivering shocks of several hundred volts, used to stun prey and deter predators. It also emits weaker pulses to navigate and locate food in murky water, since its eyesight is poor. Living in oxygen-poor waters, the electric eel must regularly surface to gulp air, breathing through its highly vascular mouth.
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