Temporal Coding of Species Recognition Signals in An Electric Fish

Abstract

An electric fish in the African family Mormyridae recognizes members of its own species by "listening" to electric organ discharges, which are species-specific signatures. Reactions of fish in the field and of individual electroreceptors to both normal and modified computer-synthesized discharges emphasize the importance of the waveform (time-domain cues) in species recognition.