Sea robins, bottom-dwelling ocean fish, use taste bud-covered leglike appendages to sense and dig up prey along the seafloor, attracting other fish hoping to snag uncovered prey. David Kingsley, a Stanford developmental biology professor, discovered sea robins in 2016 and was intrigued by their bird-like fins and crab-like legs. Kingsley and his team studied these fish, revealing their sensory adaptations and genetic traits. Their research, published in Current Biology, highlights how evolution leads to complex adaptations, such as sea robins’ ability to “taste” prey with their sensitive appendages.