Covered Market: Gurnards

More grumpy-looking in large.

The "claws" are a modified part of the pectoral fin: they're spines or 'rays' which would normally give structure to the fin, but in gurnards they have become separated (although the fins are more normal early in development), and have mechanical and chemical sensory functions, allowing these fish to sense prey beneath the surface of the sediment over which they graze...