THE ELECTRIC EEL. 
273 
<fhe dorsal fin begins a little behind the head and runs to the tail, where it is united with the 
anal fin. Both these fins are, however, low and fleshy, and not at all conspicuous. The 
length of this fish is extremely variable ; one captured specimen measured four feet four 
inches in length. 
The Mursena, or Moray ( Murcena melanotis), is found from Charleston, S. C., to Florida. 
Its usual length is about twenty inches. Its shape is somewhat like that of the Blennies. 
Its propensity to bite, and general appearance, are suggestive of snake. 
The Eleoteio Eel is even more remarkable for its capability of delivering powerful 
electric shocks than the torpedo. 
MU YiMNh.—Murcena Helena. 
The Electric Eel is a native of Southern America, and inhabits the rivers of that warm 
and verdant country. The organs which enable it to produce such wonderful effects are 
double, and lie along the body, the one upon the other. 
The reader will remember that in the torpedo the electric effect was produced by a number 
of little columns ; in the Electric Eel, the corresponding organ consists of a great number 
of divisions, technically called “septa,” which are again subdivided by lesser transverse 
membranes. One organ is always larger than the other ; and it was found that in a fish 
measuring about two feet four inches in length, there were thirty-four septa in the larger 
organ and fourteen in the smaller. On an average two hundred and forty transverse 
membranes are packed in each inch, thereby giving a vast extent of electricity-producing 
surface. It was calculated by Lacepede, that the expanse of this organ in an Electric Eel of 
four feet in length is equivalent to one hundred and twenty-three square feet, while that of a 
large torpedo only equals fifty-eight feet. 
Vol. in. —35. 
