Electrogenesis

Active electrolocation

In active electrolocation, the animal senses its surrounding environment by generating weak electric fields (electrogenesis) and detecting distortions in these fields using electroreceptor organs. This electric field is generated by means of a specialised electric organ consisting of modified muscle or nerves. Animals that use active electroreception include the weakly electric fish, which either generate small electrical pulses (termed "pulse-type"), as in the Mormyridae, or produce a quasi-sinusoidal discharge from the electric organ (termed "wave-type"), as in the Gymnotidae.