and chimaeras. These fish have electroreceptive organs, the ampullae of Lorenzini, which can detect small variations in electric potential. The organs are mucus-filled and consist of canals that connect pores in the skin of the mouth and nose to small sacs within the animal's flesh. They are used to sense the weak electric fields of prey and predators. These organs have been predicted to sense magnetic fields, by means of Faraday's law of induction: as a conductor moves through a magnetic field an electric potential is generated. In this case the conductor is the animal moving through a magnetic field, and the potential induced (Vind) depends on the time (t)-varying rate of magnetic flux (Φ) through the conductor according to The ampullae of Lorenzini detect very small fluctuations in the potential difference between the pore and the base of the electroreceptor sac. An increase in potential results in a decrease in the rate of nerve activity. This is analogous to the behavior of a current-carrying conductor. Sandbar sharks, Carcharinus plumbeus, have been shown to be able to detect magnetic fields; the experiments provided non-definitive evidence that the animals had a magnetoreceptor, rather than relying on induction and electroreceptors. Electromagnetic induction has not been studied in non-aquatic animals. The yellow stingray, Urobatis jamaicensis, is able to distinguish between the intensity and inclination angle of a magnetic field in the laboratory. This suggests that cartilaginous fishes may use the Earth's magnetic field for navigation. Passive alignment in bacteria Magnetotactic bacteria of multiple taxa contain sufficient magnetic material in the form of magnetosomes, nanometer-sized particles of magnetite, that the Earth's magnetic field passively aligns them, just as it does with a compass needle. The bacteria are thus not actually sensing the magnetic field. A possible but unexplored mechanism of magnetoreception in animals is through endosymbiosis with magnetotactic bacteria, whose DNA is widespread in animals. This would involve having these bacteria living inside an animal, and their magnetic alignment being used as part of a magnetoreceptive system. Unanswered questions It remains likely that two or more complementary mechanisms play a role in magnetic field detection in animals. Of course, this potential dual mechanism theory raises the questions of to what degree each method is responsible for the stimulus, and how they produce a signal in response to the weak magnetic field of the Earth. In addition, it is possible that magnetic senses may be