New research reveals that some sea robin species, known for their peculiar appearance, utilize taste bud-covered leglike appendages to sense and unearth prey along the ocean floor. These fish are so adept at this technique that other fish follow them in hopes of catching the freshly uncovered meals.
Some types of sea robins, a peculiar bottom-dwelling ocean fish, use taste bud-covered legs to sense and dig up prey along the seafloor, according to new research. Sea robins are so adept at rooting out prey as they walk along the ocean floor on their six leglike appendages that other fish follow them around in the hope of snagging some freshly uncovered prey themselves, said the authors of two new studies published Thursday in the journal Current Biology.
Genetically distinct walking fish The two sample groups of sea robins looked the same, but the newly delivered fish didn’t dig or find buried prey. “This time, the new sea robins didn’t find anything, despite readily eating prey on the surface,” Bellono said by email. “We thought we were maybe doing something wrong, but it turned out that we accidentally got a different species.” The mix-up enabled some serendipitous discoveries for the researchers.
Evolution Sensory Perception Marine Biology Fish Behavior Adaptation
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