It’s shocking news!
The New York Aquarium is playing name-that-animal with one of nature’s most jolting creatures: the Amazonian electric eel.
Coney Island’s waterworld wowed visitors when it debuted the freshwater fish — whose sex is yet to be determined — last week, and now that the aquarium is accepting suggestions, ideas have started pouring in.
“I would call him Neal the Eel,” said Dick Zigun, the unofficial mayor of Coney Island and the man behind the famous Sideshows by the Seashore.
Electric eels — which aren’t officially eels, as they are closer cousins to catfish — use unique organs in their abdomen to produce enough electricity to kill prey. The jolt they produce when frightened can even kill a human being. The fish can grow to six-feet and are native to streams and lakes in the Amazonian basin.
The aquarium’s eel is on display in its year-round Explore the Shore exhibit, which features a hands-on fish tank, underwater views of a living salt marsh and a simulated 400-gallon tidal wave.
Aquarium staff will choose a nickname from a list of submissions, which it will be accepting until Monday, Aug. 22.
To submit a moniker, visit www.nyaquarium.com.
