Electric rays (order Torpediniformes) are fish that have a rounded body and a pair of organs capable of producing an electric discharge, varying from as little as 8 volts to up to 220 volts depending on the species, which is used to stun or kill prey. There are 69 species in four families. The monotypic family Hypnidae, however, may be classed as a subfamily of Torpedinidae under the name Hypninae.

Perhaps the most known members are those of the genus Torpedo, also called crampfish and numbfish, after which the device called a torpedo is named. The name comes from the Latin "torpere", to be stiffened or paralyzed, referring to the effect on someone who handles or steps on a living electric ray.

Torpedo rays are excellent swimmers. Their round disk shaped bodies allow them to remain suspended in the water or roam for food with minimal swimming effort.

Medicinal Use

The electrical shocks of the torpedo fish did not go unnoticed by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Scribonius Largus, a Roman physician, recorded the use of torpedo fish for treatment of headache and gout in his Compositiones Medicae of 46 AD.

Some electric rays

• Marbled electric ray, Torpedo sinusperisici
• Atlantic torpedo ray, Torpedo nobiliana
• Pacific electric ray, Torpedo californica
• Lesser electric ray, Narcine brasiliensis
• Blind electric ray, Typhlonarke aysoni

References

See also

• Electric fish
• Electric eel

External links

• electric ray -- Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Online Article
• List of Species called "electric ray"