Sex differences in electric signaling in an electric fish.

The electric discharge of Sternopygus macrurus is distinctly different from the discharges of ten sympatric species of electric fish in Guyana, South America. Sternopygus is the first known example of a fish with sexually different electric discharges. Males and females differ in the steady-state frequency of their discharges, and males produce variations in their discharge during courtship. Playback experiments demonstrate that species and sex differences in electric discharges have communicative significance.