What is this? pretty weird looking. It had several long "fingers under each fin
sea robin
2000 SeaPro 180CC w/ Yammy 115 2 stroke
1966 13’ Boston Whaler w/ Merc 25 4 stroke “Flatty”
www.sswaonline.com
a very cool example of evolution in bony fishes- they “walk” on them. those “fingers” are the soft rays of the pelvic fins that have become somewhat articulated after the membranes in between them were lost. in contrast, the pectoral fins are obviously highly adapted to making fast turns when they’re not “walking”, much like a sheepshead’s long pectorals helping them turn on a dime around vertical structure.
another example of pelvic fin specialization can be seen in gobies (such as the naked goby, native to every oyster mound in SC). most species have fused pelvic fins that form a single “suction cup” in the center of the fish’s “chest”, allowing them to maintain their position on the bottom in heavy current.
Uh oh, barbawang, you mentioned “Evolution”. I better get my popcorn 
(BTW I am 100% behind Evolution!)
2000 SeaPro 180CC w/ Yammy 115 2 stroke
1966 13’ Boston Whaler w/ Merc 25 4 stroke “Flatty”
www.sswaonline.com
Be careful with those things, the spines are somewhat poisonous, much worse than a catfish. We had to have a mate airlifted by chopper to the hospital once from a sea robin poke. Thought she was going to die.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
good to know. I didnt touch it as it looked like it could be poisonous. thanks for the info
REAL good to know, Larry! They are so cool, when we catch them we check them out a bit before releasing them, just goes they are fascinating. We will handle with care!
Vinman
“Every saint has a past, every sinner a future”
www.summervillesaltwateranglers.com
2011 Carolina Skiff 178DLV
90 HP Honda
and the big ones are VERY good to eat.
.
NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
i thought they called that thing a bighead…
sea robin the proper name for it?
(**() Larry, thats good info. Iv’e caught plenty of them, guess I’ve been lucky.
Fishb8 (Fish Bait)
23 Sea Hunt “My Last Boat V”
If you can’t stand behind our soldiers, try standing in front of them.
Prionotus tribulus is the bighead searobin
in this case, it’s Prionotus carolinus- the common/northern searobin
at least, that’s what Linnaeus would consider “proper”…
Cool, didn’t know there were different subspecies.
Just for technical purposes, is there a way to tell em a part?
According to wikipedia there are 114 species!
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
ionic, from the audubon field guide to fishes of north america: the northern searobin is the most common and has a black spot with a halo around it between the 4th and 6th spines of the dorsal fin (you’d have to stretch it out to see, i’m sure).
the bighead… it’s got a big head.
Up north, good offshore flounder bait, strips of sea robin.
Brock I think this one may be P. evolans, striped sea robin, judging by what looks to possibly be lateral stripes…just my 2cent…seen a couple today
cool, thanks man. i gladly defer to your expertise!
had thought about mentioning scitulus (the leopard sea robin) too, just since they’re neat lookin’:
Yeah scitulus is definitely one of the cooler looking ones…majority of the ones we catch are carolinus so its fun to see some different little boogers