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electric eel

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.07 sec.
electric eel: see electric fish electric fish, name for various fish that produce electricity by means of organs usually developed from modified muscle tissue. The electric eel (Electrophorus electricus
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electric eel

Eel-shaped South American fish (Electrophorus electricus) capable of producing an electric shock strong enough to stun a human. The electric eel (not a true eel) is a sluggish inhabitant of slow freshwater, surfacing periodically to gulp air. Long, cylindrical, scaleless, and gray-brown, it sometimes reaches a length of 9 ft (2.75 m) and a weight of 49 lbs (22 kg). The tail region, bordered below by a long anal fin that the fish undulates to move about, contains the electric organs. The shock (up to 650 volts discharged at will) is used mainly to immobilize fish and other prey.


electric eel
an eel-like freshwater cyprinoid fish, Electrophorus electricus, of N South America, having electric organs in the body: family Electrophoridae


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Other perils they must contend with include pirates who are also after the Hyperion and deadly high-altitude creatures that are like a cross between squids and electric eels.
; a night at home with electric eels (think surge protectors) and the diary of a sport utility vehicle (``Tuesday: We hit a pot hole
Electric eels and catfish home in on electric signals when they hunt small knife fish.
 
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