| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Cartilaginous fishes
| ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Families | ||||||||||
|
Narcinidae Torpedinidae
|
Electric rays (order Torpediniformes) are fish that have a rounded body and a pair of organs capable of producing an electric discharge, which is used to stun or kill prey. There are 69 species in two families.
Perhaps the most known members are those of the genus Torpedo , also called crampfish and numbfish , after which the military torpedoes are named. The name comes from the Latin "torpere", to be stiffened or paralyzed.
Rays