Electric Eel vs Pez león

Electrophorus electricus comparado con Pterois volitans

Taxonomy & Classification

Atributo	Electric Eel	Pez león
Nombre Científico	Electrophorus electricus	Pterois volitans
Orden	Gymnotiformes	Scorpaeniformes
Familia	Gymnotidae	Scorpaenidae
Conservation Status	Least Concern	Least Concern

Physical Traits

Atributo	Electric Eel	Pez león
Longitud Máxima	250,0 cm	38,0 cm
Peso Máximo	20,0 kg	1,1 kg
Color	Dark olive-gray to grayish-brown cylinder-shaped body with a pale yellowish-orange throat and chin; back uniformly dark; scaleless skin has a smooth appearance; long ribbon-like anal fin is pinkish.	White to cream body with alternating bold reddish-brown and white vertical bands; fan-like pectoral fins are banded with red-brown and white spots; long dorsal spines are striped and venomous.

Habitat & Environment

Atributo	Electric Eel	Pez león
Tipo de Agua	Freshwater	Saltwater
Rango de Profundidad	—	2-55m
Distribución Geográfica	Native to the Orinoco and Amazon river basins in Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and Brazil. Inhabits murky, oxygen-depleted floodplain pools, swamps, and slow-moving streams in lowland …	Native to the Indo-Pacific from East Africa and the Red Sea to southern Japan, Australia, and the Marquesas. Invasive in the western Atlantic and Caribbean …
Hábitat	Estuaries	Neritic, coral reefs

Cuisine & Edibility

Electric Eel

Not consumed — an ornamental and scientific novelty species kept in specialized aquarium exhibits; edible in principle but extremely dangerous to handle due to powerful electric discharge.

Pez león

Sweet, buttery white flesh once spines are safely removed; increasingly promoted as a sustainable food source in Atlantic waters where it is an invasive species.

Species Overview

Electric Eel

Despite its name, the electric eel is not a true eel but a knifefish. It can generate electrical discharges of up to 860 volts to stun prey and defend itself. About 80% of its body is dedicated to three electric organs.

Pez león

The red lionfish is a venomous coral reef fish native to the Indo-Pacific. Its ornate, striped body and fan-like pectoral fins make it popular in aquariums, but it has become a destructive invasive species in the western Atlantic and Caribbean.