mE TORPEDO 
149 
regained by rest; it is also increased by energetic circula- 
tion and respiration. As in muscular exertion the electri- 
cal power is increased by the action of stryclmine. 
Marey has more recently made interesting experiments 
on the torpedo, examining the discharge of this fish with 
the telephone: Slight excitations provoked a short croak- 
ing sound. Each of the small discharges was composed of 
a dozen fluxes and pulsations, lasting about one fifteenth 
of a second. The sound got from a prolonged discharge, 
however, continued three to four seconds, and consisted of 
Fia. 191.— The Devil-fish. (Ceratoptera). From Liitken's Zoology. 
a sort of groan, with tonality of about mi (165 vibrations), 
agreeing pretty closely with the result of graphic experi- 
ments. 
Marey has also studied the resemblance of the electrical 
apparatus of the electrical ray or torpedo and a muscle. 
Both are subject to will, provided with nerves of centrifugal 
action, have a very similar chemical composition, and re- 
semble each other in some points of structure. A muscle 
in contraction and in tetanus executes a number of succes- 
sive small movements or shocks, and a like complexity has 
been proved by M. Marey in the discharge of the torpedo. 
The sting-rays {Trygon) have no caudal fin, but the 
spinal column is greatly elongated, very slender, and armed 
