electric fish definition of electric fish in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

electric fish, name for various fish that produce electricity by means of organs usually developed from modified muscle tissue. The electric eel (Electrophorus electricus), a South American freshwater fish related to the carp, has organs along the ventral surface capable of producing from 450 to 600 volts of electricity—enough to light a neon bulb. Other electric fish include the electric ray ray, extremely flat-bodied cartilaginous marine fish , related to the shark . The pectoral fins of most rays are developed into broad, flat, winglike appendages, attached all along the sides of the head; the animal swims by rippling movements of these wings.
..... Click the link for more information. , or torpedo; a freshwater electric catfish catfish, common name applied to members of the freshwater fish families constituting the suborder Nematognathi. The catfish is related to the sucker and the minnow , and like them has a complex set of bones forming a sensitive hearing apparatus.
..... Click the link for more information. with a jellylike subcutaneous electric organ (probably of epidermal origin) that extends over the whole body; and various species of stargazer stargazer, common name for any of several species of marine fishes of the family Uranoscopidae, found in southern waters, and having the mouth, nostrils, and eyes set high in the head. Stargazers lie buried in the sand, waiting for their prey of small crustaceans.
..... Click the link for more information. . All these fish produce electricity at will to paralyze or kill their prey, to repel their enemies, and to aid in navigation. Recent experiments have shown that when an electric eel is in motion it generates pulses of low-energy electricity which serve to detect the presence of nearby objects. Scientists believe that electric organs in fishes may function also in communication between individuals. Electric eels are classified in the phylum Chordata Chordata (kôrdā`tə,–dä`–)
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Osteichthyes, order Cypriniformes, family Electrophoridae.

electric fish [i¦lek·trik ′fish]

(vertebrate zoology)

Any of several fishes capable of producing electric discharges from an electric organ.