Creepy Critters - The Bobbit Worm

Photo credit Krist-Mikael Krister at Flickr

It lurks in the darkness, barely seeing, barely moving, feelers outstretched, searching for its next victim. The hapless fish will be dragged beneath the sand, maybe in one piece, maybe split in two. With one of the creepiest methods of catching prey, the sand striker, also known as the Bobbit worm, Eunice aphroditois, gets my vote for one of the scariest animals in the sea.

For most people, looking at the Bobbit worm is enough to freak them out, but let's get into the details of why this animal makes me squirm.

1. The worm can grow up to 10 ft long, hiding almost all of its body underneath the sand while its head pops up above for feeding. It may be the longest polychaete worm on the planet.
2. The worm senses fish with its outstretched feelers and by seeing the shadows as they swim by. When a fish gets close enough, it strikes quickly, grabbing its prey with deadly force that sometimes breaks the backbone of the fish and can split it in half! 
3. If the strike doesn't kill the fish, the worm injects a venom which kills it and helps the worm digest it.
4. It can eat fish that are much larger than its mouth. Check out how it takes down a lionfish!

With all of these crazy elements going for it, this worm is no stranger to the tabloids. Take its name, for instance. The Bobbit Worm was named by Dr. Terry Gosliner after a trip to the Phillipines where he saw the worm. At the time, the Lorena Bobbit case was making headlines. When Lorena found out her husband was cheating on her, she cut off his penis while he was sleeping and threw it in a nearby field. When Gosliner saw the powerful jaws of the nocturnal sand striker and the way it sliced through the backbones of fish, it reminded him of Lorena Bobbit's evening revenge. Since then, both lady and worm have attracted a sort of morbid fascination.

Photo credit Mark Atwell at Flickr

This worm also hit tabloids in England when it found its way into the Newquay Aquarium. Aquarists were baffled as several fish turn up injured or disappeared, and especially when they found some of the coral in the tank sliced clean through. When the aquarists took apart the tank looking for the culprit, they found a 4ft Bobbit worm, which they named Barry. It is assumed he must have entered the tank with the coral when he was just a small larvae. While they originally thought Barry too ugly to display, the international attention he gained led them to put him in his own tank where a curious public could see him. 

So, as Halloween approaches, would you dare take a peak? Do you think the Bobbit worm is one of the coolest, scariest animals in the sea?