Black ghost knifefish

The black ghost knifefish (Apteronotus albifrons) is a South American freshwater fish with an elongated black body and a weak electric field used for navigation and communication.

Connect

Electric organ discharge: An electric field generated by specialized cells in an animal’s body. The fish’s weak discharge creates the field it uses to sense nearby objects and signal other fish.
Electrocyte: A specialized cell that generates electric current in an electric fish. Electrocytes are the cells that produce the knifefish’s electric organ discharge.
Electrosensory system: The sensory organs and neural pathways that detect and process electric fields. Its accessible electric signals make the fish a model for studying sensory processing.
Electric communication: The exchange of information through electric signals between animals. Black ghost knifefish use electric signals in interactions with other fish.
Electroreception: The detection of electric fields by sensory systems. Its receptors detect distortions in its self-generated field, revealing objects in dark or murky water.
Ampullary electroreceptor: A sensory receptor that detects low-frequency electric fields in aquatic animals. This receptor type senses passive electric fields, complementing the fish’s active electric sense.
Active sensing: Perception in which an organism generates signals and measures their interaction with the environment. Its electric field is an active sensing signal, much like echolocation pulses or whisker movements.
Electric fish courtship: Courtship behavior in which electric fish use signals and movements during mating interactions. Changes in electric signaling can accompany social and reproductive behavior.
Efference copy: A neural copy of a motor command used to distinguish self-generated sensory effects from external signals. The fish’s brain accounts for its own electric signals while detecting changes caused by the environment.
Jamming avoidance response: A change in electric signal frequency that reduces interference between nearby weakly electric fish. It shows how electric fish can adjust their signals when another fish’s discharge overlaps in frequency.