Electric Eel vs Great Hammerhead Shark

Electrophorus electricus в сравнении с Sphyrna mokarran

Taxonomy & Classification

Характеристика	Electric Eel	Great Hammerhead Shark
Научное название	Electrophorus electricus	Sphyrna mokarran
Отряд	Gymnotiformes	Carcharhiniformes
Семейство	Gymnotidae	Sphyrnidae
Conservation Status	Least Concern	Critically Endangered

Physical Traits

Характеристика	Electric Eel	Great Hammerhead Shark
Максимальная длина	250,0 cm	610,0 cm
Максимальный вес	20,0 kg	580,0 kg
Окраска	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.	Brownish-gray to olive-gray dorsal surface with a clean countershaded white belly; no distinct patterning; first dorsal fin is tall and strongly falcate; pelvic fin tips dusky.

Habitat & Environment

Характеристика	Electric Eel	Great Hammerhead Shark
Тип воды	Freshwater	Saltwater
Диапазон глубин	—	1-300m
Ареал обитания	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 …	Circumtropical in warm coastal and offshore waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans. Concentrates around coral reefs, continental shelf edges, and deep-water drop-offs; population …
Среда обитания	Estuaries	Neritic

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.

Great Hammerhead Shark

Critically Endangered — consumption strongly discouraged. Fins are historically traded but the species faces severe population decline; eating this fish is ecologically irresponsible.

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.

Great Hammerhead Shark

The great hammerhead is the largest of the nine hammerhead shark species. Its distinctive cephalofoil (hammer-shaped head) houses an array of electroreceptors that allow it to detect stingrays buried beneath the sand.