Electric_catfish

Electric catfish
Malapterurus electricus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Siluriformes Family: Malapteruridae Bleeker, 1858
Genera
Malapterurus Paradoxoglanis

Electric catfish is the common name for the catfish (order Siluriformes) family Malapteruridae. This family includes two genera, Malapterurus and Paradoxoglanis with 19 species.Ferraris, Carl J., Jr. (2007). "Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types" (PDF). Zootaxa 1418: 1–628.  Several species of this family have the ability to produce an electric shock of up to 350 volts using electroplaques of an electric organ. Electric catfish are found in tropical Africa and the Nile River. Electric catfish are usually nocturnal and feed primarily on other fish, incapacitating their prey with electric discharges.

Description

Malapteruridae is the only group of catfish with a well-developed electrogenic organ; however, electroreceptive systems are widespread in catfishes. The electrogenic organ is derived from anterior body musculature and lines the body cavity.Nelson, Joseph S. (2006). Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-25031-7.  Electric catfish do not have dorsal fins or fin spines. They have three pairs of barbels (the nasal pair is absent). The swim bladder with elongate posterior chambers, two chambers in Malapterrus and three in Paradoxoglanis.

They can grow as large as 100 centimetres (39 in) SL and about 20 kilograms (44 lb) in weight.Ng, Heok Hee (2000). Malapterurus electricus. Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved on 2007-07-28. All Paradoxoglanis species are much smaller. Most malapterurids are dwarf species less than 30 cm (12 inches) long.

Relationship to humans

The Nile fish was well known to the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians have depicted the fish in their mural paintings and elsewhere; the first extant depiction of an electric catfish is that on the slate pallete of the pre-dynastic Egyptian ruler Narmer, about 3100 BC.Howes, George J. (1985). "The phylogenetic relationships of the electric catfish family Malapteruridae (Teleostei: Siluroidei)". Journal of Natural History 19: 37-67.  An account of its electric properties was given by an Arab physician of the 12th century; then as now the fish was known by the suggestive name of Raad or Raash, which means thunder (literally trembler, shaker).

The shock an electric catfish can generate is not known to be fatal to humans.

Popular Culture

Animal Planet show The Future Is Wild introduced the lurkfish - a theoretical descedant of the electric catfish in 1,000,000 years in the future, who has a much more powerful electric shock that it uses as an active weapon.

References

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

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Malapterurus electricus

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