Electric ray

The electric rays are a group of rays, flattened cartilaginous fish

with enlarged pectoral fins, composing the order Torpediniformes. Electric rays
They are known for being capable of producing an electric Temporal range: Eocene–Recent [1]
discharge, ranging from 8 to 220 volts, depending on species, used
PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K PgN
to stun prey and for defense.[2] There are 69 species in four
families.

Perhaps the best known members are those of the genus Torpedo,
also called crampfish and numbfish. The torpedo is named after it.
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.

Marbled electric ray

Contents (Torpedo marmorata)
Description
Relationship to humans
Bioelectricity
Systematics
See also
References
Lesser electric ray
(Narcine bancroftii)
Description
Scientific classification
Electric rays have a rounded pectoral disc with two moderately
Kingdom: Animalia
large rounded-angular (not pointed or hooked) dorsal fins (reduced
in some Narcinidae), and a stout muscular tail with a well- Phylum: Chordata
developed caudal fin. The body is thick and flabby, with soft loose
Class: Chondrichthyes
skin with no dermal denticles or thorns. A pair of kidney-shaped
electric organs are at the base of the pectoral fins. The snout is Superorder: Batoidea
broad, large in the Narcinidae, but reduced in all other families. The
Order: Torpediniformes
mouth, nostrils, and five pairs of gill slits are underneath the
disc.[2][3] F. de Buen, 1926

Families
Electric rays are found from shallow coastal waters down to at least
1,000 m (3,300 ft) deep. They are sluggish and slow-moving,
propelling themselves with their tails, not by using their pectoral fins Narcinidae
as other rays do. They feed on invertebrates and small fish. They lie Hypnidae
in wait for prey below the sand or other substrate, using their
Torpedinidae
electricity to stun and capture it.[4]
Relationship to humans
The electrogenic properties of electric rays have been known since antiquity. The ancient Greeks used electric
rays to numb the pain of childbirth and operations.[2] In his dialogue Meno, Plato has the character Meno
accuse Socrates of "stunning" people with his puzzling questions, in a manner similar to the way the torpedo
fish stuns with electricity.[5] Scribonius Largus, a Roman physician, recorded the use of torpedo fish for
treatment of headaches and gout in his Compositiones Medicae of 46 AD.[6] The torpedo fish, or electric ray,
appears continuously in premodern natural histories as a magical creature, and its ability to numb fishermen
without seeming to touch them was a significant source of evidence for the belief in occult qualities in nature
during the ages before the discovery of electricity as an explanatory mode.[7]

Bioelectricity
The electric ray may be the most electrosensitive of all animals. Their
eyes are on the top of their heads, resulting in poor vision that must be
compensated for the use of other senses, including detecting
electricity. Many species of rays and skates outside the family have
electric organs in the tail; however, the electric ray has two large
electric organs on each side of its head, where current passes from the
lower to the upper surface of the body. The organs are governed by
four central nerves from each side of the electric lobe, or specialized
brain lobe, which is of a different color from the rest of the brain. The
main nerves branch repeatedly, then attach to the lower side of each
plate in the batteries, which are composed of hexagonal columns, in
honeycomb formation: each column consists of 140 to half a million The two electric organs.
gelatinous plates. In marine fish, these batteries are connected as a
parallel circuit where freshwater batteries are found in series,
transmitting discharges of higher voltage, as freshwater cannot conduct electricity as well as saltwater. With
such a battery, an average electric ray may electrocute larger prey with a current of up to 30 amperes and a
voltage of 50 to 200 volts, a similar effect to dropping a mains-powered hairdryer (large appliance plug of
110/220 volts in North America) into a bathtub.

Systematics
The 60 or so species of electric rays are grouped into 12 genera and two families.[8] The Narkinae are
sometimes elevated to a family, the Narkidae. The torpedinids feed on large prey, which are stunned using
their electric organs and swallowed whole, while the narcinids specialize on small prey on or in the bottom
substrate. Both groups use electricity for defense, but it is unclear whether the narcinids use electricity in
feeding.[9]

Family Narcinidae (numbfishes)

Subfamily Narcininae
Genus Benthobatis
Genus Diplobatis
Genus Discopyge
Genus Narcine
Subfamily Narkinae (sleeper rays)
Genus Crassinarke
 Genus Electrolux
Genus Heteronarce
Genus Narke
Genus Temera
Genus Typhlonarke
Family Hypnidae (coffin rays)
Subfamily Hypninae (coffin rays)
Genus Hypnos
Family Torpedinidae (torpedo electric rays)
Subfamily Torpedininae
Genus Tetronarce
Genus Torpedo

See also
Endangered rays
Electric fish

References
1. Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2011). "Torpediniformes" (http://www.fishbase.org/Sum
mary/OrdersSummary.php?order=Torpediniformes) in FishBase. February 2011 version.
2. Martin, R. Aidan. Electric Rays (http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/shark_profiles/torpe
diniformes.htm). ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research. Retrieved on October 12, 2008.
3. Hamlett, William C. (1999). Sharks, Skates, and Rays: The Biology of Elasmobranch Fishes.
Baltimore and London: JHU Press. ISBN 0-8018-6048-2.
4. Stevens, J.; Last, P.K. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes.
San Diego: Academic Press. p. 66. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
5. Wikisource:Meno
6. Theodore Holmes Bullock; Carl D. Hopkins; Richard R. Fay (28 September 2006).
Electroreception (https://books.google.com/books?ei=tqMeVaviFsqwsASM-IHoAw&id=d1-rak1
asv0C&dq=bullock+Electroreception&q=roman). Springer Science & Business Media. p. 6.
ISBN 978-0-387-28275-6.
7. Copenhaver, Brian P. (September 1991). "A tale of two fishes: Magical objects in natural history
from antiquity through the scientific revolution". Journal of the History of Ideas. 52 (3): 373–398.
doi:10.2307/2710043 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2710043).
8. Nelson, J.S. (2006). Fishes of the World (https://archive.org/details/fishesworld00nels) (fourth
ed.). John Wiley. pp. 69 (https://archive.org/details/fishesworld00nels/page/n89)–82. ISBN 0-
471-25031-7.
9. Compagno, Leonard J.V. and Heemstra, Phillip C. (May 2007) "Electrolux addisoni, a new
genus and species of electric ray from the east coast of South Africa (Rajiformes:
Torpedinoidei: Narkidae), with a review of torpedinoid taxonomy (http://www.bioline.org.br/requ
est?sm07003)". Smithiana, Publications in Aquatic Biodiversity, Bulletin 7: 15-49. Retrieved on
October 22, 2008.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Electric_ray&oldid=977196121"

This page was last edited on 7 September 2020, at 13:20 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.