Smelling electricity

Sharks are well known for their ability to smell the spilt blood of potential prey drifting through the water. However, these stealthy swimmers have also evolved a way to sense the presence of prey by tuning into electrical signals, known as electro-reception, beneath the waves. There is a sensory organ – which is known as the ampulla of Lorenzini – that projects into the brains of sharks and acts as a receiver for electrical signals. For example, great white sharks can react to charges of one-millionth of a volt. This comes in very handy when on the hunt for fish because they can react to the electrical fields they produce. For example, the simple act of a fish breathing can discharge a minute voltage when the mucus in a fish’s mouth meets the salty seawater.

The electroreceptors can be seen as tiny pores on the snout of a shark