With a catfish-shaped body and face, sea robins come in a wide range of colors: Red-brown and orange to subtler hues of silver and gray. Yet sea robins are most notable for their distinctively large, fan-shaped dorsal fins and for their six leg-like appendages.

Scientists have just discovered the mechanism through which a winged fish uses its “legs” to taste the seafloor. The peculiar fish is so good at tasting the seabed, in fact, that other animals follow it for clues on where to find food.

Some types of “walking” fish called sea robins can use their taste bud-covered legs to detect prey buried beneath the sandy covering of the seafloor.

Sea robins, a type of ocean-dwelling fish, are uniquely adapted to life on the seafloor. Their six leg-like structures allow them to move, burrow, and hunt with such skill that other fish often gather nearby to steal their leftovers.