electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) Fig. 74.—The electric eel, Gymnotus electricus. (The modern accepted name is Electrophorus electricus.)
Date 1892
Source Life in Motion, or, Muscle and Nerve. https://archive.org/details/b21929786
Author John Gray McKendrick
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Life_in_Motion_Fig_74.png
The electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) is an electric fish, and the only species in its genus. Despite the name, it is not an eel, but rather a knifefish. Electric eels inhabit fresh waters of the Amazon and Orinoco River basins in South America, in floodplains, swamps, creeks, small rivers, and coastal plains. They often live on muddy bottoms in calm or stagnant waters.