The evolution of vertebrate electrosensory systems
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Updated: Oct 31, 2026

Long-term Behavioral Tracking of Freely Swimming Weakly Electric Fish
Published on: March 6, 2014
1Department of Biology and Parmly Hearing Institute, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Ill. 60626, USA.
Abstract:
Sensory systems that detect weak electric fields initially evolved as a primitive vertebrate character and have subsequently been lost and 're-evolved' a number of times in various taxa. As such, they provide unique examples of evolutionary parallelism and convergence in vertebrate sensory systems. Electrosensory systems have additionally proven to be admirable models for investigating the fundamental strategies by which nervous systems interpret environmental signals as the basis for organizing behaviors.
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