Name
Torpedo marmorata
marbled electric ray
Framing
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Elasmobranchii
Order: Torpediniformes
Genus: Torpedo
Species: marmorata
Habitat
Marine. Benthic. Usually semi-buried in soft bottoms, up to about 370 m. deep.
Feeding
Free life. Solitary. Predator.
Distribution
Genus found in all tropical and temperate seas. Torpedo marmorata in the eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Sea.
Conservation status
Not threatened
Additional information
Head, trunk and pectoral fins form a rounded disc, very flattened dorso-ventrally. Gill slits towards the substrate and two spiracles behind the eyes. The tail is very fleshy, with two dorsal fins set back. They have an organ producing electric discharges on both sides of the body. Three species in the Spanish fauna: the tremielga T. marmorata and the tremielga T. torpedo reach barely 60 cm in length, while the tremielga negra T. nobiliana often exceeds one metre. Ovoviviparous.
Additional information
Bibliography
- Corbera, J., Sabatés, A. y García- Rubios, A. (1996). Peces del Mar de la Península Ibérica. Planeta. 312 pp.- Lythgoe, J. & Lythgoe, G. (1991). Guía de los Peces de Mar del Atlántico Norte y del Mediterráneo.Omega. Barcelona. 256 pp.- Lloris, D. (2015). Ictiofauna marina. Manual de identificación de los peces marinos de la Península Ibérica y Baleares. Omega. 674 pp. Biblioteca del Departamento de Zoología- Pinto de la Rosa, F.J. y Bellido López, J.J. (2010). Tiburones de la Costa Tropical. Concejalía de Medio Ambiente del Ayuntamiento de Motril. (pdf)