Electrocytes, electroplaques or electroplaxs are cells used by rays, electric eels and other electric fish for electrogenesis and electroreception. They are flat disk-like cells that are stacked in a sequence in a manner similar to a battery. Electric eels have several thousand of these cells stacked, each producing 0.15V. The cells function by pumping positive sodium and potassium ions out of the cell via transport proteins powered by adenosine triphosphate. Postsynaptically, electrocytes work much like muscle cells and, because of their resemblance to nerve-muscle junctions, are used in research. To discharge the electrocytes at the correct time, the electric eel uses its pacemaker nucleus, a nucleus of pacemaker neurons. When an electric eel spots its prey, the pacemaker neurons fires and acetylcholine is subsequently released from electromotor neurons to the electrocytes, resulting in an electric organ discharge. Cells in culture, stained for keratin (red) and DNA (green) The cell is the structural and functional unit of all living organisms, sometimes called the building blocks of life. ... 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. ... Binomial name Electrophorus electricus Linnaeus, 1766 The electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) is a most unusual species of fish. ... TABEL OF ALL KNOWN ELEKTRIC FISHES WITHIN FRESHWATER HABITATS (= all known electric bony fishes): In salt water there is only one order, the Torpediniformes (electric rays), inside the chondrichthyes that shows species generating even strong electric pulses (genus Torpedo spp. ... Electroreception, sometimes written as electroception, is the biological ability to receive and make use of electrical impulses. ... A synapse is a connection between two neurons: presynaptic and postsynaptic. ... Structure of a skeletal muscle Muscle is one of the four tissue types. ... In neuroanatomy, a nucleus is a central nervous system structure that is composed mainly of gray matter, and which acts as a hub or transit point for electrical signals in a single neural subsystem. ... The chemical compound acetylcholine, often abbreviated as ACh, was the first neurotransmitter to be identified. ...

In the electric ray Torpedo, electroplax are found near the pectoral muscles and the gills. In all other fishes, it is often near the tail. In one fish genus, the Malaptaturus, the electric organs are not made of individual electroplax, but are built up from charges of the epithelium, specifically the skin. species 40+, see text The genus Torpedo contains over 40 species of electric rays or torpedoes, flat cartilaginous fishes that produce electricity as a defense and feeding mechanism. ...