Electric eel

Electrophorus electricus

The electric eel is a long freshwater fish from tropical South America. It is a kind of knifefish, not a true eel, and most of its body is packed with electricity-making organs.

✓ This really is a fish

Water

Freshwater

Quiet, slow-moving streams, oxbow lakes, pools, and flooded forests where the water may hold little oxygen.

Temperature

24–28°C · 75–82°F

A representative tropical lowland range; flooded habitats change through wet and dry seasons.

Size

Up to about 2–2.5 m (6–8 ft)

Longer than a grown-up is tall

Lifespan

Wild lifespan is unknown; in human care, often 10–22 years

Life expectancy varies with place, conditions, and what scientists have been able to observe.

01 · Signature adaptation

What does it do?

Weak electrical signals help it sense objects and other electric fish in muddy water. It must regularly surface and gulp air because its warm habitat may contain little oxygen.

Its superpowerIt produces strong pulses to hunt and defend itself, plus weak pulses to navigate and communicate.

02 · Home coordinates

Where does it live?

Freshwater systems across northern South America, including parts of Brazil, the Guianas, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

Regions: Amazon Basin · Orinoco Basin · Northern South America

03 · The menu

What does it eat?

Adults are flexible hunters that stun or reveal prey with carefully timed electric pulses.

Carnivore: fish, crustaceans, insects, amphibians, small vertebrates.

04 · Remember this

Two wow facts

Mostly electric organ

Three electric organs take up about 80 percent of its body, while most vital organs are packed near the head.

Sources [1]

An air-breathing fish

An electric eel gets most of its oxygen by gulping air at the surface and absorbing it through its specially folded mouth.

Sources [1]