Scary animals, either because of their size or their provenance, have populated horror films for decades. Some of us look with distrust at the ants since we saw the movie "Them!" (In Spain "The humanity in danger") or we repel the cockroaches since "we face" the giant aliens of "Starship Troopers (The brigades from space)". In Supercurioso we have known 60 Rare animals of the world, fascinating and curious , And this time we want to get closer to one that looks like something out of a scary movie: the Bobbit Worm, the terrifying predator of the bottom of the sea.
A predator in the animal world it is that which subsists uses predation. Predation is defined as "a type of biological interaction in which an individual of an animal species, referred to as a predator or predator, hunts and eats another organism, its dam . The predator can actively search for prey or simply wait for it to approach. The Bobbit worm it is a patient predator that will wait for its prey to approach to attack it and drag it under the sand of the seabed where it will consume it.
The Bobbit Worm. A terrifying predator of the seabed
The Bobbit worm , also called giant reef worm, is an aquatic polychaete worm of the Eunicidae family. It is a predator that awaits the ambush of its prey. It buries its very long body on the seabed, mainly in mud, gravel or coral. He leaves his five antennae outside, waiting to receive some stimulus when a possible victim approaches. If he notices something, he attacks with such speed and ferocity that with his sharp jagged jaws, his only weapon, he cuts his prey in half. It is a nocturnal worm, lives mainly in tropical waters and usually buries its body between 10 and 15 meters from the surface of the water.
The Bobbit worm can measure up to three meters, although the usual is that they measure little more than one meter. Its body is robust, long, multisegmented and ringed, the thickness of which usually reaches 2'5 cm. Its jaw is extensible and complex since it is actually formed by two jaws with sharp cutting edges and four pairs of jaws. With this "armament" it is even capable of penetrating human skin. In addition to these sharp weapons, it is covered with sharp bristles that if they come in contact with a human being can cause numbness in the affected area. This fact made the researchers think that the Bobbit worm he injects in his victims a toxin with which he narcotizes or kills his prey so that he can eat it safely, especially if they are larger than he is, which happens very frequently.
Hidden and lurking in the sand, Bobbit has no problem attacking squid, octopus, crustaceans, fish and even small sharks. A curious case related to the Bobbit worm occurred in 2009 at the Blue Reef Aquarium of Cornwall . The employees of the facilities began to notice that some fish had disappeared and that others had serious injuries. They even found coral cut in half. They could not find out the cause of the disaster until they dismantled the main tank screen, a Bobbit worm I had nested there. The workers nicknamed him "Barry."
One of the curiosities of Bobbit worm It is the origin of his name. Its official name is "Eunice aphroditois", but it is known as Bobbit. In 1992, Dr. Goslier named him by that name when he observed it in the Philippine Islands. The way to cut his prisoners reminded him of the case of Lorena Bobbit, a woman victim of domestic violence, who cut off her husband's male member. It is false, as it has been said at some time, that the name comes to him because after copulation, the female cuts the male's penis. The Bobbit worm reproduces by transmission. The female releases the eggs and the male the sperm. Both remain floating waiting to coincide and that fertilization occurs.
The appearance of Bobbit worm it is absolutely sinister; It looks like something out of a horror movie of aliens. The writers do not need much imagination to devise horrifying beings from other galaxies having this example so close. To me, personally, his jaws remind me of the "Predator" face. What dou you think about him Bobbit worm ? Did you know its existence? Do you think I could be the co-star of a science fiction movie? If you want to meet other unique animals, we invite you to read:
- The Pink Dolphin an awesome creature | 10 Curiosities about him
- The Purple Snail | 10 Curiosities of this incredible color animal
- The Panda Ant | 15 Curiosities of a very rare animal
- Dendrobates tinctorius, the dangerous blue frog
- Poecilotheria metallica, the amazing and beautiful blue tarantula
Image: Jenny