Marbled Electric Ray (Torpedo Marmorata)

Latin name: Torpedo marmorata
Common name: Marbled electric ray
In other languages: E: Tremolina marmol, F: Torpille marbrae, D: Marmor-Zitterrochen
Family: Torpedinidae

Habitat: Inshore waters from 2 metres down to 100 metres.

Behaviour: A demersal species that envelops and stuns its prey with an electric discharge that is quite awesome.

Diet: Fish and crustaceans.

Shape: Banjo-shaped; no scales. The two electric organs found lying latterly behind the eye on each side of every family member are the source of their intense power, capable of a discharge of some 220 volts - around 7 amps.

Size: Common: 60 - 80cm, maximum: 180cm.

Colour: Brown with black and white marbeling. There are several electric rays in this family that are present in the Mediterranean. The marbled electric ray being the better known of them all, possibly due to its striking markings giving it a greater prominence in people's minds rather than the dull colours of other family members.

Did you know: Aristotle was the first to describe the effects of an electric shock given by this fish when prodded with a metal rod sometime between 367 BC and 347 BC. It was possibly the first recorded scientific description of electricity.