Puget Sound
Neighbors
Meet
the Pacific Electric Ray
(Torpedo californica)
It may be shocking
to learn but Puget Sound is home to the Pacific electric ray. Though not very
common in the Sound, the largest Pacific electric rays, which incidentally are
the females, can be almost five feet long. Each side of its head sports a kidney-shaped
electric organ capable of producing a powerful electric current which can be
used to stun prey or deter predators. The organs are really specialized muscles
that generate and store electric potential that can provide a strong electric
shock to any person or animal making contact with the fish at two points. Somehow
the newborn Pacific electric rays, which are born living, avoid the shock! Unlike
skates, which swim by undulating their pectoral fins, electric rays swim by
moving their tails. These rays swim swiftly enough to feed on fishes, especially
herrings and flatfishes.
Drawing
from:
J. L. Hart
Pacific Fishes of Canada
Information from:
Kaza Ansley
West Sound Academy
