Electroreception

Electroreception is the ability animals have to sense electrical sources. It is mostly found in aquatic or amphibious animals. This is because water helps the signals travel better than air. Some exceptions are the echidnas, cockroaches and bees. Electroreception is used in electrolocation.

Electroreceptors in the head of a shark.

Research

Until recently, people thought only vertebrates had electroreception. However, research has shown that bees use electroreception to find flowers. Electroreception is found in lampreys, cartilaginous fishes (sharks, rays, chimaeras), lungfishes, bichirs, coelacanths, sturgeons, catfishes, gymnotiformes, monotremes, and at least one species of cetacean. Fish have electroreception from their lateral lines. In most groups electroreception is used for predation. The Western long-beaked echidna has about 2,000 electroreceptors on its bill. Its relative, the duck-billed platypus, has 40,000.^[1]

Electrolocation

Electroreceptive animals use this sense to find where objects are. This is important in ecological niches where the animal cannot see. For example, animals cannot use their vision in caves, in murky water, and at night. Many fish use electric fields to find buried prey. Some shark pups "freeze" when they feel the electric signal of their predators.^[2]

Related pages

• Lateral line
• Electric fish