Unexpected species diversity in electric eels with a description of the strongest living bioelectricity generator

Author(s):Show less -

de Santana, C. David ^[1] ; Crampton, William G. R. ^[2] ; Dillman, Casey B. ^{[1, 3]} ; Frederico, Renata G. ^{[4, 5]} ; Sabaj, Mark H. ^[6] ; Covain, Raphael ^[7] ; Ready, Jonathan ^[8] ; Zuanon, Jansen ^[9] ; de Oliveira, Renildo R. ^[9] ; Mendes-Junior, Raimundo N. ^[10] ; Bastos, Douglas A. ^[9] ; Teixeira, Tulio F. ^{[11, 12]} ; Mol, Jan ^[13] ; Ohara, Willian ^{[11, 14]} ; Castro, Natalia E. Castro ^[15] ; Peixoto, Luiz A. ^[11] ; Nagamachi, Cleusa ^[16] ; Sousa, Leandro ^[17] ; Montag, Luciano F. A. ^[4] ; Ribeiro, Frank ^[18] ; Waddell, Joseph C. ^[2] ; Piorsky, Nivaldo M. ^[19] ; Vari, Richard P. ^[1] ; Wosiacki, Wolmar B.

Affiliation:Show less -

^[1] Smithsonian Inst, Natl Museum Nat Hist, Dept Vertebrate Zool, Div Fishes, MCR 159, POB 37012, Washington, DC 20013 - USA

^[2] Univ Cent Florida, Dept Biol, Orlando, FL 32816 - USA

^[3] Cornell Univ, Museum Vertebrates, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Ithaca, NY 14850 - USA

^[4] Univ Fed Para, Lab Ecol & Conservacao, Inst Ciencias Biol, Belem, Para - Brazil

^[5] Univ Fed Minas Gerias, Inst Ciencias Biol, Lab Ecol Peixes, Belo Horizonte, MG - Brazil

^[6] Drexel Univ, Acad Nat Sci, Dept Ichthyol, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia, PA 19103 - USA

^[7] Museum Hist Nat, Dept Herpetol & Ichtyol, Route Malagnou 1, Case Postale 6434, CH-1211 Geneva 6 - Switzerland

^[8] Univ Fed Para, Inst Ciencias Biol, Ctr Estudos Avancados Biodiversidade, Lab Lepidopterol & Ictiol Integrada, Belem, Para - Brazil

^[9] Inst Nacl de Pesquisas da Amazonia, Coordenacao Biodiversidade, Manaus, Amazonas - Brazil

^[10] Inst Chico Mendes Conservacao Biodiversidade, RESEX Rio Cajari, Macapa, Amapa - Brazil

^[11] Univ Sao Paulo, Lab Ictiol, Museu Zool, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[12] Pontificia Univ Catolica Minas Gerais, Programa Posgrad Biol Vertebrados, Belo Horizonte, MG - Brazil

^[13] Anton de Kom Univ Suriname, Paramaribo - Surinam

^[14] Univ Fed Rondonia, Lab Ciencias Ambientais, Presidente Medice, Rondonia - Brazil

^[15] Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Caixa Postal 399, BR-66040170 Belem, Para - Brazil

^[16] Univ Fed Para, Inst Ciencias Biol, Ctr Estudos Avancados Biodiversidade, Lab Citogenet, Belem, Para - Brazil

^[17] Univ Fed Para, Fac Ciencias Biol, Lab Ictiol, Altamira, Para - Brazil

^[18] Univ Fed Oeste Para, Inst Ciencias Tecnol Aguas, Campus Amazonia, Santarem, Para - Brazil

^[19] Univ Fed Maranhao, Dept Biol, Lab Ecol & Sistemat Peixes, Sao Luis, Maranhao - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS; v. 10, SEP 10 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

Is there only one electric eel species? For two and a half centuries since its description by Linnaeus, Electrophorus electricus has captivated humankind by its capacity to generate strong electric discharges. Despite the importance of Electrophorus in multiple fields of science, the possibility of additional species-level diversity in the genus, which could also reveal a hidden variety of substances and bioelectrogenic functions, has hitherto not been explored. Here, based on overwhelming patterns of genetic, morphological, and ecological data, we reject the hypothesis of a single species broadly distributed throughout Greater Amazonia. Our analyses readily identify three major lineages that diverged during the Miocene and Pliocene-two of which warrant recognition as new species. For one of the new species, we recorded a discharge of 860 V, well above 650 V previously cited for Electrophorus, making it the strongest living bioelectricity generator. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/19075-9 - Diversity and evolution of Gymnotiformes (Teleostei, Ostariophysi)
• Grantee: Naercio Aquino Menezes
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants