Shocking behavior

This print story was part of the September 2020 issue of National Geographic magazine.

Featuring the research of Dr. David Santana from the Smithsonian Institution and collaborators, the graphic showed for the first time fascinating information about the animals’ evolution, distribution, hunting behavior, and anatomy.

Eighty percent of an eel body is made up of electric organs with thousands of electric cells. With strong discharges they stun their prey and defend themselves from predators. This is a unique use of electricity as other electric fishes use it only for navigation and communication.

See the online version of this graphic (which may be behind a paywall), with fantastic videos of large groups of eels discharging high voltage signals to feed on little prey fish.