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weakly electric fish
Also known as: weakly electric teleost fish
Facts (15)
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Comparable Ages for the Independent Origins of Electrogenesis in ... journals.plos.org 10 facts
claimWeakly electric fishes represent one of the most significant and empirically valuable cases of convergent evolution among vertebrates, supported by temporal similarities in the origins of their electrogenic systems.
referenceF. Kirschbaum observed in 1977 that a distinct larval electric organ precedes the adult electric organ in weakly electric fish.
claimMormyroidea are African weakly electric fishes, and Gymnotiformes are South American weakly electric fishes.
referenceMasashi Kawasaki published 'Evolution of time-coding systems in weakly electric fishes' in Zoological Science in 2009, examining the evolution of neural time-coding.
procedureThe study re-examined the evolutionary ages of weakly electric teleost fish groups using complete mitochondrial genomes, an extensive taxonomic sampling of 27 species of Mormyroidea and Gymnotiformes, and a relaxed-clock Bayesian method for inferring phylogenetic relationships and divergence times.
claimThe research study on the origins of electrogenesis in weakly electric fishes was funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Research Grants (Nos. 16570082, 15380131, 17207007, 19207007 and 22370035).
referenceBastian J (1995) identified pyramidal-cell plasticity in weakly electric fish as a mechanism for attenuating responses to reafferent electrosensory inputs.
claimThe independent origins of electrogenesis in weakly electric fishes may have occurred after roughly the same intervals of time following the independent origins of teleost electroreception.
referenceF. Kirschbaum documented the reproduction and development of the weakly electric fish Pollimyrus isidori in captivity in 1987.
referenceK.O. Winemiller and A. Adite documented the convergent evolution of weakly electric fishes from floodplain habitats in Africa and South America in 1997.
Electroreception and electrogenesis - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 4 facts
claimWeakly electric fish utilize active electroreception by generating either 'pulse-type' electrical pulses, as seen in the Mormyridae family, or 'wave-type' quasi-sinusoidal discharges, as seen in the Gymnotidae family.
measurementWeakly electric fish generate electric potentials typically smaller than one volt and can discriminate between objects based on resistance and capacitance values to aid in object identification.
claimWeakly electric fish such as Gymnarchus and Apteronotus maintain rigid bodies and swim forwards or backwards using undulating fins that extend along most of their body length.
claimWeakly electric fish communicate by modulating the electrical waveforms they generate, a behavior used to attract mates and engage in territorial displays.
Editorial: Recent Advances in Electroreception and Electrogeneration frontiersin.org 1 fact
claimResearchers have applied wireless electrophysiological recording techniques to monitor neural activity from the forebrain in weakly electric fish, as demonstrated by Fotowat et al. in 2019.