Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 2 - 100 m (Ref. 13628), usually ? - 70 m (Ref. 55314). Subtropical; 35°N - 8°N, 99°W - 60°W (Ref. 55314)
Western Atlantic: North Carolina, USA and northern Gulf of Mexico to Yucatan, Mexico; northern coast of South America (Ref. 5217). Absent in the West Indies.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 44.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251); common length : 35.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217)
Inhabits silty, sandy, or rubble bottoms (Ref. 9710). Feeds on fishes (Ref. 13628). Possesses electric organs located in a specialized pouch behind the eyes. Can discharge up to 50 volts (Ref. 10576).The electric organ discharge (EOD) rate depends on the temperature: about 500 Hz at 35°C and 50 Hz at 15°C (corresponding to the annual temperature range of the habitat of this species) (Ref. 10011). Cleithral spine with venom gland (Ref. 57406).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p. (Ref. 7251)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
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