Most aquatic animals have some sort of electrosensory system, meaning they can detect electric fields present in the surrounding water. These electric fields can be generated by ocean currents, the Earth’s magnetic field, other fish, and their own movements. While almost all aquatic animals have the ability to detect the electric fields surrounding them, some animals, such as elasmobranches, have much more complex and highly sensitive electrosensory systems. Elasmobranchs, which include sharks and rays, have the most sensitive electrosensory systems of all aquatic animals. This website explores electroreception in fish, and more specifically, the Ampullae of Lorenzini in sharks.

This page was created as part of a class project in Animal Physiology at Davidson College

Great White Shark. Image source: http://www.greatwhiteadventures.com/images/pic-shark-guad2big.jpg