Atlantic Torpedo / Electric Ray
Common Name: Atlantic Torpedo / Electric Ray
Scientific Name: Torpedo nobiliana
Range: Atlantic Ocean: Scotland to South Africa, Nova Scotia to North Carolina; Mediterranean Sea.
Habitat: Seabed
Size: 6 ft (1.8 m)
Comments: Torpedo rays can give electric shocks of 70 to 220 volts, sufficient power to kill or stun a prey fish or to throw a man to the ground. The electric discharges of these fishes are produced by modified muscle cells. Torpedoes eat fish, which they trap and envelop in their pectoral fins while delivering the shock. Females produce live young which are about 94 in (25 cm) long when they are born.