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National Museum of Natural History

A humpback whale breaches the surface of the ocean on a sunny day as three birds fly overhead.

10 Popular Scientific Discoveries From 2021

Read about the year's most attention-grabbing findings by scientists at the National Museum of Natural History

The Volta’s electric eel, Electrophorus voltai, emits the strongest shocks of any animal on Earth. Although these eels were thought to be loners, the species was recently seen hunting in a group. (L. Sousa)

Shocking Study Finds Electric Eels Hunt Together

The study challenges what researchers know about eels’ supposed loner behavior.

Scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History discovered all sorts of cool things in 2019 including the first North American medicinal leech (Macrobdella mimicus) in more than 40 years. (Anna Phillips, Smithsonian)

10 Popular Scientific Discoveries from 2019

Celebrate the new year with some of our most popular scientific discoveries from 2019.

South American rivers are home to at least three different species of electric eels. One species, Electrophorus varii, named after the late Smithsonian ichthyologist Richard Vari, swims through murky, slow-flowing lowland waters. (D. Bastos)

Fish Detective Solves a Shocking Case of Mistaken Identity

Smithsonian scientist David de Santana discovered two new species of electric eels in the Amazon rainforest.

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