Credit: Prisma Bildagentur AG /Alamy

The electric eel stuns its fish prey by emitting electrical pulses that control parts of the nervous system of its victim.

Kenneth Catania at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, studied the behaviour and electrical discharges of an eel (Electrophorus electricus; pictured) when it was presented with fish in an aquarium. He found that the eel's shocks immobilize the fish by activating nerves controlling the muscles, causing them to contract throughout the fish's body even when the fish's brain and spinal cord were destroyed. When the fish was hidden, the eel sent out two quick pulses, causing the fish to twitch, followed soon by a high-voltage zap and an attack.

The results show how the electric eel can remotely control its prey.

Science 346, 1231–1234 (2014)