CNN —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. A species of sea robins called Prionotus carolinus studied by the researchers used their legs for walking, digging and sensing the seafloor. And the fish that lacked sensory capabilities and used their legs mainly for walking were striped sea robins, or Prionotus evolans. The digging sea robins had shovel-shaped legs that were covered in protrusions called papillae, which are similar to the taste buds on our tongues. Both researchers said they are keen to uncover the exact mechanisms behind the evolution of the sea robins’ sensory appendages.

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Persons: David Kingsley, Kingsley, Rudy J, Daphne Donohue Munzer, ” Kingsley, “ I’d, Mike Jones, Amy Herbert, “, ” Herbert, Herbert, Corey Allard, ’ ” Allard, Nick Bellono, ” Bellono, carolinus, ” Allard, Tbx3, Jason Ramsay, Ramsay, Anik, ” Ramsay Organizations: CNN, Marine Biological, Stanford University’s School of Medicine, Stanford, Harvard University, Rhode Island College, Harvard, University of Chicago Locations: Woods Hole , Massachusetts, Harvard, New England