DISTINGUISHING FEATURES AND BEHAVIORS

The northern sea robin is distinguishable by a large spiny head and tapering body. It can be easily identified by its rounded, fanlike pictoral fins that are so large that, when laid back, they overlap the anal and second dorsal fins.

The three lower rays of the sea robin's pectoral fins are long, broad feelers used to walk along the bottom. Sea robins use these lower fin rays as sense organs to stir up bottom sediments and find food.

The head of the northern sea robin is encased in bony plates used as a shovel to dig up invertebrates from the mud. The front part of its upper jaw is concave, and there is a small spine in its nostrils. The northern sea robin's eyes are a distinctive peacock blue. The features of its head distinguish a sea robin from a similar-looking fish, the sculpin.

The sea robin feeds on a wide variety of invertegrates, including shrimp, crabs, amphipods, squid, bivalve mollusks, and segmented worms. It has also been known to bite readily on any bait, suggesting a fairly nonselective feeding habit.

Sea robins typically inhabit areas of hard, smooth grounds but are not often seen among rocks or in the mud. These active swimmers are often found close to the surface, but when threatened, they will bury themselves in the sand, revealing only their eyes and the top of their heads.

RELATIONSHIP TO PEOPLE

Sea robins are plentiful in southern New England. Since they are well-known bait stealers, they can be a nuisance to fishermen. Some people find these bottom-dwellers good to eat and harvest them mainly by hook and line. Their numbers in Narragansett Bay have been slowly declining over the last several years, which may be due in part to incidental capture and increased commercial fisheries.

These fish are interesting to encounter, often producing an audible "croak" when held out of the water.