Ghost knifefish make electric ‘chirps’ to spot where other fish are

The electric call of the brown ghost knifefish has long been thought to be for communication, but may instead help improve electrolocation.

To Michael Le Paige

It has long been thought that when a brown ghost knifefish “chirps” toward another knifefish by altering the electric field it generates, it is communicating with the other fish. According to Livio Obotti, these chirps are a kind of probe that help fish improve their electrical location of objects, especially other electric fish.

Weakly electric fish generate a weak electric field around their bodies, which they sense with special receptors on their skin. This allows them to detect…