By Charles Q. Choi, Live Science Contributor | June 05, 2014 02:32pm ET
Catfish have evolved sensors on their whiskers that can help the animals hunt in the dark by detecting slight changes in water acidity, the first time such sensors have been seen in fish, researchers say.
Scientists investigated the Japanese sea catfish (Plotosus japonicas), a nocturnal, 5.9-inch-long (15 centimeters) fish very common in southern Japan that cruises the seafloor at night capturing worms and crustaceans. People in the area don't eat this catfish — it has venomous spines on its fins.
"No one wants to handle these fish," said lead study author John Caprio, a neuroscientist at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
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