There's no better word to describe the electric eel than, well, shocking. Part of that shock, as it turns out, was the discovery that it isn't a real eel at all. While it exhibits a long, smooth, snake-like body, the electric eel is scientifically classified as a knifefish, a cousin to the carp and catfish-only with maximum voltage.
The electric eel's charge is like that of a Taser, except while a Taser delivers 19 high-voltage pulses per second, the electric eel produces an astounding 400 pulses per second.