ELECTRICAL GYMNOTE. 
GENERIC CHARACTER. 
Body compressed, with a keel-shaped fin beneath. 
Gill membrane five-rayed. 
Two tentacula on the upper lip. 
SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 
Gymnotus electricus. G. anguilliformis fuscus, cauda obtusa. 
Anguilliform brown gymnote, with 
obtuse tail. 
G. nudus dorso apterygio, pinna caudali 
obtusissima anali annexa. Linn. Syst. 
Nat. Gmel. 1 . p. 1138. 
Bloch Ichth. 5. p. 38. t. 156. 
Electrical Gymnote. Shaw Gen. Zool. 4. p. 41. pi. 6. 
The singular property which this animal possesses 
in common with the torpedo, has given it a kind 
of celebrity, to which it would not otherwise be en- 
titled. The rivers- of South America, and particu- 
larly those of Surinam, harbour this extraordinary 
fish, where it sometimes grows to the length of six 
or eight feet. The disgusting appearance of this 
creature is enough to deter any one from touching 
it, independent of its electrical property, which im- 
