Electric Eel vs Peixe-leão-vermelho

Electrophorus electricus comparado com Pterois volitans

Taxonomy & Classification

Atributo	Electric Eel	Peixe-leão-vermelho
Nome Científico	Electrophorus electricus	Pterois volitans
Ordem	Gymnotiformes	Scorpaeniformes
Família	Gymnotidae	Scorpaenidae
Conservation Status	Least Concern	Least Concern

Physical Traits

Atributo	Electric Eel	Peixe-leão-vermelho
Comprimento Máximo	250,0 cm	38,0 cm
Peso Máximo	20,0 kg	1,1 kg
Cor	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	Peixe-leão-vermelho
Tipo de Água	Freshwater	Saltwater
Faixa de Profundidade	—	2-55m
Distribuição 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 …
Habitat	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.

Peixe-leão-vermelho

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.

Peixe-leão-vermelho

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.