Eunice aphroditois

"Bobbit" redirects here. For other uses, see Bobbitt.

Eunice aphroditois
A burrowed Eunice aphroditois
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Annelida
Clade: Pleistoannelida
Subclass: Errantia
Order: Eunicida
Family: Eunicidae
Genus: Eunice
Species:
E. aphroditois
Binomial name
Eunice aphroditois
Pallas, 1788

Eunice aphroditois is a benthic bristle worm of warm marine waters. It lives mainly in the Atlantic Ocean, but can also be found in the Indo-Pacific.[1][2] It ranges in length from less than 10 cm (4 in) to 3 m (10 ft).[3] Its exoskeleton displays a wide range of colors, from black to purple and more. This species is an ambush predator; it hunts by burrowing its whole body in soft sediment on the ocean floor and waiting until its antennae detect prey.[4] It then strikes with its sharp mandibles.[5] It may also be found among coral reefs.

Eunice aphroditois is also known as the bobbit worm[6][7] or bobbitt worm.[8] The name is believed to be taken from the John and Lorena Bobbitt case;[9] however, another proposed reason is due to its jaw. It is sometimes called the sand striker.[8] Another name associated with them is trap-jaw worm. Traces of their burrows have been noted in 2021 to have been found among fossils near Taiwan dating back twenty million years.[10]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference giangrande2003 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference worms was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Kubota, Shin; Tanase, Hidetomo; Uchida, Hiro'omi (March 2009). "An extraordinarily large specimen of the polychaete worm Eunice aphroditois (Pallas) (Order Eunicea) from Shirahama, Wakayama, central Japan". Kuroshio Biosphere. 5: 9–15. ISSN 1349-2705.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference haag2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Study, Australian Biological Resources (2000). Polychaetes & Allies: The Southern Synthesis. Csiro Publishing. ISBN 9780643065710.
  6. ^ Goslinger, Terrence (1996). Coral Reef Animals of the Indo-Pacific. Sea Challengers. ISBN 0930118219.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference slb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference bbccormier was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Debelius, Helmut (2001). Asia Pacific Reef Guide: Malaysia, Indonesia, Palau, Philippines, Tropical Japan, China, Vietnam, Thailand. IKAN. p. 305. ISBN 9783925919565.
  10. ^ Black, Riley, Giant predatory worms lurked beneath the ancient seafloor, fossils reveal, National Geographic, January 21, 2021