AN electric “sixth sense” unerringly guides paddlefish to their prey,
researchers in the US have discovered. They say that young paddlefish (
Polyodon spathula) rely exclusively on this electric sense to hunt their
food in the murky waters of the Mississippi river.
Paddlefish get their name from their long snout, or paddle, which is studded
with sensory organs that can detect electric fields. Adult fish have a simple
technique for catching their food. They feed by swimming around with their
mouths open, filtering plankton out of the water. But young paddlefish capture
their prey individually.
To discover how important the electric…
