The journal Nature Communications published a blockbuster study on September 10: Researchers have discovered two new species of electric eels in the Amazon region, one of which is called "Electrophorus voltai", which exceeds previous animal discharge records and can output 860 volts, making it the strongest "bio-generator" to date. The study also shattered the hypothesis that electric eels are a single species.
"Electrophorus voltai"
Known as the "high voltage line" in the water, the electric eel mainly lives in the Amazon River Basin and can send an electric current in the water to shock prey. The electric eel's ability to discharge inspired the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta to design the world's first synthetic battery in 1799.
Since the electric eel was first discovered 250 years ago, it has long been believed that the electric eel belongs to only one species.
In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., examined 107 samples of electric eels from the Amazon region and concluded based on genetics, morphology, geographic distribution, and other factors that the electric eels in the Amazon Basin belong to three different species that evolved from a common ancestor millions of years ago.
Comparison of three electric eel morphologies. Researchers believe that each type of electric eel has a unique skull shape, pectoral fin features, and a unique arrangement of pores.
The discovery of two new species, one of which was named "electroporus voltai", lived mainly in the southern highlands of the Brazilian Shield. It can output 860 volts, much higher than the previously recorded 650 volts for electric eels. The other, known as the "electroporus vari," lives in the mineral-rich lowland turbid waters.
C. David de Santana, the leader of the study, analyzed that the reason why the "volta electric eel" has evolved such a high discharge capacity may be an adaptation to the low conductivity of the clear waters of the highlands.
The researchers say their findings offer new opportunities for scientists to study how animals produce high-voltage electricity.