Torpedo
Torpedo is a genus of rays, commonly known as electric rays, torpedo rays, or torpedoes. They are slow-moving bottom-dwellers capable of generating electricity as a defense and feeding mechanism.
The naval weapon known as the torpedo was named after this genus, whose own name is derived from the Latin word torpidus meaning 'numb' or 'paralysed', presumably the sensation one would feel after experiencing the ray's electric shock.
13 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 13 known species
Marbled Torpedo
speciesTorpedo marmorata
Common Torpedo
speciesTorpedo torpedo
Leopard Torpedo
speciesTorpedo panthera
Gulf Torpedo
speciesTorpedo sinuspersici
Black-spotted Torpedo
speciesTorpedo fuscomaculata
West African Torpedo
speciesTorpedo mackayana
Rosette Torpedo
speciesTorpedo bauchotae
Aden Gulf Torpedo
speciesTorpedo adenensis
Alexandrine Torpedo
speciesTorpedo alexandrinsis
Torpedo zugmayeri
speciesTorpedo zugmayeri
Torpedo polleni
speciesTorpedo polleni
Red Sea Torpedo
speciesTorpedo suessii
Florida Torpedo
speciesTorpedo andersoni
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
Athanasii Kircheri Societatis Jesu Magnes sive de arte magnetica opus tripartium quo universa magnetis natura, eiusque in omnibus scientiis & artibus usus, nova medthodo explicatur, ac praeterae e viribus & prodigiosis effectibus magneticarum, aliarumque abditarum naturae motionum in elementis, lapidibus, plantis, animalibus, elucescentium, multa hucusque incognita natureae arcana, per physica, medica, chymica, & mathematica omnis generis experimenta recluduntur
Kircher, Athanasius · 1654 · p.555
History of Animals, Book II: On Oviparous Quadrupeds
Conrad Gessner · 1586 · p.494
History of Animals, Book II: On Oviparous Quadrupeds
Conrad Gessner · 1586 · p.495
Books on Marine Fishes
Guillaume Rondelet · 1554 · p.383
Books on Marine Fishes
Guillaume Rondelet · 1554 · p.383
Commentaries on the Six Books of Dioscorides
Pietro Andrea Mattioli · 1560 · p.309
Commentaries on the Six Books of Dioscorides on Medical Matter
Pietro Andrea Mattioli · 1563 · p.294
Commentaries on the Six Books of Pedanius Dioscorides on Medical Matter
Pietro Andrea Mattioli · 1565 · p.494
History of Animals, Book II: On Oviparous Quadrupeds
Conrad Gessner · 1586 · p.492
History of Animals, Book II: On Oviparous Quadrupeds
Conrad Gessner · 1586 · p.492
History of Animals, Book II: On Oviparous Quadrupeds
Conrad Gessner · 1586 · p.493
History of Animals, Book II: On Oviparous Quadrupeds
Conrad Gessner · 1586 · p.493
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Torpedo in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 51327.