Glass knifefish

Glass knifefishes are slender South American freshwater fishes in the family Sternopygidae. Their translucent bodies and weak electric fields distinguish them.

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Electric organ: A specialized tissue that produces electrical discharges in certain animals. Cells in this organ generate the weak electric field surrounding the fish.
Sternopygidae: A family of South American knifefishes that generate weak electric fields. Glass knifefish belongs to this family of electric fishes.
Neuroethology: The study of neural mechanisms underlying natural animal behavior. The fish links measurable neural activity to sensing and signaling in its habitat.
Amazon River: The largest river system by discharge, draining much of northern South America. Amazonian waters are part of the South American freshwater setting of these fishes.
Electric organ discharge: An electrical signal produced by an animal's electric organ. The fish's continuous weak discharges provide signals for sensing and communication.
Gymnotiformes: An order of South American fishes that includes electric knifefishes and electric eels. This order provides the broader evolutionary group containing Sternopygidae.
Neural coding: The representation of information by patterns of neural activity. Its electroreceptors provide a tractable system for studying sensory signal encoding.
South American freshwater fish: Fish species inhabiting freshwater environments across South America. This broader fauna includes the habitats and ecological neighbors of glass knifefish.
Electroreception: The detection of electrical fields by an animal's sensory system. Specialized receptors detect changes in the fish's own electric field.
Knifefish: A common name for several groups of elongate fishes, including South American electric fishes. Its blade-like body shape places it among the knifefishes.