And they're just incredibly amazing creatures with all kinds of fascinating superpowers, their incredible sense of smell to their
ampullae of Lorenzini that allows them to feel electricity" and detect the heartbeats of prey hiding in the sand.
They rely on special pores on their heads and snouts, called
ampullae of Lorenzini, that can sense electric fields generated when nearby prey move.
Using anesthetized animals, Obara and Bennett (1972) recorded from the primary afferent neurons projecting from the receptor cells lining the
ampullae of Lorenzini in two skate species, Raja oscellata and Raja erinacea.
Abstract--Previous studies indicate that elasmobranch fishes (sharks, skates and rays) detect the Earth's geomagnetic field by indirect magnetoreception through electromagnetic induction, using their
ampullae of Lorenzini. Applying this concept, we evaluated the capture of elasmobranchs in the presence of permanent magnets in hook-and-line and inshore longline fishing experiments.
Sharks have organs on their snouts called the
ampullae of Lorenzini that are specially equipped to detect electric fields.
Electroreceptive animals have a special network of gel-filled sensors called the
Ampullae of Lorenzini. The shark's sensors are located in its head, between its snout and its eyes, and are connected to visible pores on the skin.
These senses include (1) smell and taste (chemoreception); (2) vision (photoreception); (3) hearing, touch, and a lateral line system (mechanoreception); and (4)
ampullae of Lorenzini (electroreception).
The Atlantic stingray and other rays can detect prey more than six feet away by using an elaborate system of electroreceptors on the undersides of their heads, called
ampullae of Lorenzini. Such capabilities are especially handy in murky waters near the river bottom or ocean floor and enable the rays to find hidden prey buried in muddy sediments.
At short distances 2-3 ft (0.5-1 m), they can use their
ampullae of Lorenzini, jelly-filled tubes near the nostrils opening to the exterior, capable of measuring salinity and temperature, as well as perceiving electromagnetic fields.
(B) It gives off a high-pitched noise detected by sharks'
ampullae of Lorenzini.
These results support studies in which tricaine decreased afferent activity from other receptor types, such as the lateral line organs and
ampullae of Lorenzini (1).