The Torpedo has no spines which can wound, but it has a much more
powerful weapon of defence. Like the Electrical Eel, this Fish has the
power of producing violent electrical shocks.
The electrical effects produced on the fisherman who seizes one of these
Fish, were noted from early times; but Redi, the Italian Naturalist of
the seventeenth century, was the first who studied them scientifically.
Having caught and landed one of them with every precaution, “I had
scarcely touched and pressed it with my hand,” says this Naturalist,
“than I experienced a tingling sensation, which extended to my arms and
shoulders, and which was followed by a disagreeable trembling, with a
painful and acute sensation in the elbow joint, which made me withdraw
my arm immediately.”
Other Naturalists have described similar sensations, and careful study
has been made of this Fish to discover the cause of this shock, and the
hidden power possessed by the Fish of storing up this animal
electricity. It still remains a mystery, however, in spite of extensive
experimenting.
The body of the Torpedo or Cramp-fish is almost circular, and it is
thicker than others of the Ray family. The skin is soft and smooth, and
of a yellowish color marked with darker spots. The eyes are very small,
and behind them are two star-like spout-holes; the mouth is small, and
the long tail tapers to a point, finished with a sort of caudal fin.
These curious Fishes are found in the English Channel and along the
shores of the Mediterranean.