Electrophorus Voltai can provide an 860-volt, much more than the existing 650-volt record founded in the Amazon basin.
DNA research has revealed two completely new species of electric eel in the Amazon basin, one of which is capable of producing a record shock.
The findings demonstrate, say the researchers, the incredible diversity of the Amazon rainforest, much of which remains unknown to science, and show why it is so important to protect the habitat at risk of deforestation, logging, and fires…
Even though the human involvement in the Amazon rainforest in the last 50 years, Still many giant fish can be discovered like the 2 new species of electric eels, many parts of Amazon still human not discovered, researcher C David de Santana, a zoologist who works for the Smithsonian. National Museum of Natural History.
The research tells us that a large number of species are expected to be found in the Amazon rainforest, but only comes out when researchers discover it.
The electric eel, which is a kind of fish instead of an eel, inspired the design of the first electric battery.
For centuries, it was believed that there were only one species in the region called the Great Amazonia, which covers parts of countries such as Brazil, Suriname, and Guyana.
But as part of a project to better understand the electric eel and the wildlife map in remote areas of South America, De Santana, and his team decided to test this theory.
At first glance, they found little visible difference between creatures captured in different parts of the Amazon basin, suggesting that the fish were part of a single species.
But other analyses, which include DNA from 107 collected samples, date back to centuries of assumptions and reveal three species: Electrophorus electricus, as well as Electrophorus voltai and Electrophorus varii.
And his research also revealed another surprising result: E. voltai is capable of delivering an 860-volt, much more than the 650 volts previously registered by electric eels, “making it the most powerful bioelectricity generator known to this day.”
The results, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, assume that the three species evolved from a common ancestor millions of years ago.
The researchers found that each of the three species had a clearly defined habitat, E. electricus that lives in the region of the Guiana Shield, E. voltai in the Shield of Brazil, a mountainous region further south, and E. varii that inhabits in the waters of the Amazon basin at low flow.
And they suggest that the particularly powerful electric shock that E. voltai can produce could be an adaptation to life in high altitude waters, where conductivity is reduced.
Electric eels use their crash tactics for a variety of reasons, including prey hunting, self-defense, and navigation. They generate electricity from three specialized electrical devices that can emit charges of different intensities for different purposes.
But the discovery of new species suggests the possibility that different types of eels have developed different methods of producing electricity, perhaps better adapted to their diverse environments.
“The physiology of the electric eel has inspired the design of Volta’s first electric battery, provided a basis … for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and has recently encouraged the development of hydrogel batteries that can be used to feed medical implants,” Santana said.
Also read: Top 10 Endangered Species On Earth
