A LIVING TORPEDO.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 29, Issue 33, 1 May 1917, Page 7

A LIVING TORPEDO.

It is perhaps interesting to know that there is a fish which bears this name. This is the torpedo, or electric ray, a dweller in Southern seas, whicl grows to a large size, sometimes •weighing seventy or eighty, pounds, This peculiar fish has a nearly circular body, a short tail, and a vers small mouth. The back is brownish in colour, and the underneath parts are- white. The torpedo obtains its name from its power of giving a violent shock, similar to an electric shock, to anything with which it comes in contact. Whenever an enemy approaches, the fish emits from its body a kind oi electricity, which incapacitates the attacker immediately. In capturing its food the torpedo finds this power of use. Being very inactive, it cannot pursue the small fish which forms its diet, so it lies in wait until they swim close by, and then throws out its powerful shock, which instantly renders them helpless. If a person touches this strange fish he is attacked by cramp, which affects the stomach, producing a kind of convulsion. For this reason the torpedo is sometimes known as the "cramp-fish.”