Black electric stingray: Incinerates prey with a crushing discharge, destroying all living things around it!

Black electric ray outwardly resembles a huge harmless flatcake, but behind this clumsy appearance hides a real super predator, capable of defeating even a shark. The secret of its power is the unique ability to generate an electric discharge with a power of 220 volts! And although you won't be able to charge your smartphone from this marine inhabitant, experiencing a powerful electric shock is quite a real possibility.

Even without its electric weapon, the black ray remains a formidable predatory fish. Adult specimens reach an impressive 180 cm in length and can weigh up to 90 kg, which is comparable to the weight of a large human. Most marine predators prefer not to mess with such a giant — it's too difficult to handle prey of this size.

Finding a ray in its natural environment is not easy. During the daytime, it buries itself in the sand near the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, and with the onset of darkness, it goes to depths of up to 800 meters in search of food. Despite their small eyes and poor vision, black rays excel at hunting, acting like an underwater vacuum cleaner — sucking in prey and swallowing it whole. Scientists have discovered cat sharks, 2 kg salmon, and even 37 cm long flounder in the stomachs of these creatures!

When the victim resists, the ray applies a series of 10-12 electric discharges with a voltage of 200-220 volts and power up to 6 kW. This is direct current, useless for charging electronics, but capable of completely stunning any fish within a radius of several meters. The consequences for victims are truly devastating: muscle spasms, tendon ruptures, bone fractures, and even damage to the spine.

In cases where the ray itself is under threat, it increases the number of discharges to hundreds, effectively scaring away any predators of its size. For humans, contact with a ray is usually not fatal, however, stunning and disorientation at significant depths can have fatal consequences even for experienced divers.

For its unique weapon, the ray paid a high evolutionary price: 1/6 of its body mass is occupied by specialized electric organs. These structures consist of 500,000 thin plates — modified muscles that accumulate electric charge. In essence, this is an evolutionary refinement: after all, any muscles contain a small amount of bioelectricity necessary for the functioning of the nervous system.

Another amazing feature of these creatures is live birth. Unlike many other cartilaginous fish that lay eggs, in the black ray, fertilized eggs develop in the female's uterus. Hatched embryos initially feed on reserves from egg sacs. In some fish species, brutal intrauterine cannibalism begins at this stage, but black rays have found a more humane solution. Their uterus produces special nutritious milk, rich in fats and proteins, which the offspring feed on for several months. By the momen