Gymnotus electricus
Date 1825-1837
Notes This object is part of the collection Iconographia Zoologica
Source/Photographer [Wörterbuch der Naturgeschichte, dem gegenwärtigen Stande der Botanik, Mineralogie und Zoologie angemessen]
Old Latin name Gymnotus electricus
New Latin name Electrophorus electricus
Common name Nederlands: Sidderaal
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gymnotus_electricus_-_1825-1837_-_Print_-_Iconographia_Zoologica_-_Special_Collections_University_of_Amsterdam_-_UBA01_IZ15100125.tif

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.