Will the electric eel shock itself when it discharges electricity?

The Amazon is a place with extremely rich biological species. Here, not only is competition fierce in the jungle, but the rivers are also full of hidden dangers.

Here, there is a creature called the "high voltage line" in the water.

Even the usually ferocious piranhas and crocodiles cannot escape its mouth.

That is the electric eel.

In 2018, the creature was listed as one of the "most terrifying freshwater creatures on Earth" by National Geographic magazine.

Although the electric eel has the word "eel" in its name, it is not a kind of eel, but a kind of knife fish.

But it does discharge electricity, and it is very powerful.

There is a discharge body made up of specialized muscle tissue in the electric eel's body. Almost all muscle tissue can discharge electricity. This tissue can account for four-fifths of its body (excluding the head).

A regular electric eel can usually grow to two meters long, weigh about 20 kilograms, and have thousands of electric discharges.

Each discharger produces a voltage of approximately 0.15 volts.

These voltages come from some cells in the electric eel's body, where electrocytes are stacked layer by layer to form small stacked batteries.

When they are stimulated by nerve signals, the flow of ions (such as sodium ions, potassium ions, etc.) in the electrocytes suddenly passes through the cell membrane, forming an electric current.

At this time, the stacked batteries from head to tail of the electric eel are connected in series, forming a very high voltage.

If these discharge bodies discharge at full power at the same time, the voltage can reach up to 800 volts.

And through the medium of water, its radiation range can reach 3-6 meters.

Of course, such high-intensity power cannot last long, and under normal circumstances they will not be so impulsive.

Because the main hub of their generators is the nerve part of the organ, they can discharge at will and control the timing and intensity of the discharge themselves.

The electricity they release can easily kill smaller creatures in the water, allowing them to hunt and survive.

Occasionally, large creatures such as cattle, sheep, and horses that are drinking water on the shore will be stunned by electricity.

Having said so much, why can't electric eels shock themselves even though they are in the water?

The electric eel's discharge organs are on both sides of its body. As a creature that lives on discharge, after years of evolution and development, most of its body and important organs are wrapped in highly insulating tissues.

So they act like a big battery in the water, and the current will flow through the path of least resistance.

The resistance of water is smaller than that of the electric eel's body, so the current released will not hurt itself when it is transmitted in the water.

However, if an electric eel comes into the air, since the resistance of the air is greater than its own resistance, it will easily shock itself if it discharges again.

And if the electric eel is injured and the insulators on both sides are damaged at the same time, a short circuit will occur during discharge, just like two exposed wires.

It can easily become "grilled fish".

Speaking of grilled fish, as a fish of considerable size, can electric eels be eaten?

sure.

Although the electric eel is a highly poisonous aquatic creature, its toxicity only exists in the gallbladder and the intestines used for electricity generation. As long as these two parts are carefully handled, it can be eaten.

Electric eel sashimi

It is said that the meat of electric eels is very tough and rich in protein...

As mentioned earlier, the natural enemy of piranhas is the electric eel, and electric eels have no natural enemies except those that are captured by humans.

Nature is such a wonderful cycle.