This Extraordinary Fish Features “Bird Wings, Crab Legs” and More Surprises!

We might believe it to be a creature belonging to cryptozoology and yet, this species is indeed real. From the family of Triglidae, the sea blackbird (sea ​​robin in English) is an unusual fish which was the subject of two studies published on September 26, 2024 in the journal Current Biology. The reason? His amazing paws.

A fish that has fascinated researchers since 2016

The scientists behind the study of Current Biologyand in particular David Kingsley met the sea robin for the first time eight years ago in an aquarium.

For CNNthe scientist working at Stanford University in the United States, recounts this first interview: “The sea robins on display turned my brain upside down because they had the body of a fish, the wings of a bird, and multiple legs like a crab. I had never seen a fish that looked like it was made up of body parts from several different types of animals.”

It is for this reason that the researcher decided to make it a subject of study in the laboratory and that he was able to discover incredible faculties of this fish, particularly in terms of its legs.

These are legs with which he walks and… he tastes

Imagine being able to “taste” with your feet. Yes, it's weird when we relate it to humans. However, this is exactly what the seabird does. As a bottom fish, it walks the sea floor and moves using its small legs located at the front of the fins.

Of course, it also uses its “wings” to move around. But a fish that uses its fins to move is not surprising. Whereas a fish that has legs and uses them to walk, dig and taste is unusual and fascinating.

In fact, the small appendages found at the base of the seabird's fins are as useful to it in its movements as in its search for food. The study co-authored by David Kingsley was able to demonstrate that the seabird's legs were equipped with small taste buds, allowing it to search for prey with precision.

A mutation that does not concern all sea robins

THE Triglidae or sea robins are “walking fish”. That is, all representatives are equipped with legs with which they can move. However, not everyone developed the mutation observed in the study.

So some seabirds walk, dig and taste while others just walk. The reason for this? The presence or absence of the tbx3a gene. If a fish has this gene, then its legs will have taste buds that allow it to dig in the ground in search of food. In its absence, the appendages at the base of its fins are simply a means of locomotion.

If these fish belong to the same species, how come they haven't all developed this fascinating mutation?

According to Amy Herbert, co-author of the study and postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University, one of the reasons for this lies in the habits of the fish itself.

“On the one hand, Using the legs to uncover buried prey allows them to search for food in a more efficient manner than before. On the other hand, walking rather than swimming in certain environments may be more energetically efficient for sea robins.” she declared to CNN.

It remains to be seen, as future studies progress, whether the mutation of sea robins, by developing legs, first worked at the level of walking or at the level “of sensory function or a combination of both” Jason Ramsay, a commentator on the study and assistant professor of biology at the University of Rhodes Island, told CNN.

According to him, and in view of the first results, “it should be the second scenario”. We must now work to confirm this.

Source : CNN