When you purchase through links on our site , we may earn an affiliate commission . Here ’s how it work .

Name : Sand striker ( Eunice aphroditois ) , also make out as a bobbit worm

Where it is found : tropic shallow waters around the worldly concern

Bobbit worm comes out halfway from its sand burrow, flaring its tentacle-like structures on its head

Sand strikers (Eunice aphroditois) live buried in the seafloor waiting for prey to swim above its large jaws.

What it eats : Fish and other invertebrate

Why it is awesome : With its scientific name referencing Aphrodite , the Greek goddess of sexual love and stunner , the sand striker is a stunning , glittering maritime worm — and a terrifying ambush predator .

It buries its long dead body in the seafloor during the day and waits withits antennae out to tempt unsuspecting quarry into its retractable jaw , which sport two pairs of serrate plates that act like scissors and can snap a Pisces in half . moxie striker have little to no imagination , but their five transmitting aerial habituate sparkle and chemical receptors to sense nearby fair game and strike , before decease back to its tunnel with its repast .

Shown from above, the bobbit worm comes out halfway from its burrow.

Sand strikers can break into pieces if threatened and regenerate from the splintered parts.

At night , it is bolder and survive on the hunt , part come forth from its tunnel to hurl at passing prey . As if that were n’t shuddery enough , the backbone striker may also use toxin to surmount or kill its target . This toxin allow the sand striker to prey on and digest animals great than itself .

The fish do n’t always go without a fight , though . They have been tape mobbing a guts striker , blowing cat valium of water at the insect until it pull back into its burrow , allowing them to scrounge safely .

The sand hitter can do chaos in marine museum if it ’s unexpectedly introduce while rock is being tally to a tank . As a predator , it will step by step munch its way through any jailed fish , pull off to remain undetected for year thanks to its impressive concealment power . To make matters more complicated , if handled , the sand striker will break into pieces , some of which will survive and begin to regrow .

a photo of an eye looking through a keyhole

refer : Strange sea worms have butt that grow a brain before wriggling off to find a mate

This creepy predator can reach incredible lengths . One individual , found hidden within a plasterer’s float of a mooring line raft in Japan in 2009 , evaluate almost 10 foot ( 3 meter ) long .

— Shape - shifting Pisces that confounded scientist for 100 years spotted off California glide

a tiger looks through a large animal�s ribcage

— Newly happen upon Antarctic sea wanderer with ' boxing baseball mitt ' claw pulled up from sea trading floor

— super rare dolphinfish with thumbs photograph in Greek gulf

There ’s a common misconception that the backbone striker does n’t have a mentality , but in reality it does — it ’s just very different to a human learning ability . They have a cerebral ganglion , a cluster of cells within the autonomic nervous organisation .

a photo of burgers and fries next to vegetables

For many years , this dirt ball had been informally named the bobbit insect , thanks to the highly publicized trial of Lorena Bobbitt , who was foundnot guilty by rationality of temporary insanityof cutting off her married man ’s penis with a tongue .

Images charm a starving king of beasts , fighting bison and pit of vipers reward in environmental photography award

Hoatzin : The strange ' stinkbird ' born with taloned wing that is likely an evolutionary ' orphan '

An artist�s illustration of a satellite crashing back to Earth.

Hatnefer ’s heart scarabaeus : An exquisite ancient Egyptian gold necklace inscribe with the Book of the Dead

a photo of a group of people at a cocktail party

A photo of the Large Hadron Collider�s ALICE detector.

An illustration of a satellite crashing into the ocean after an uncontrolled reentry through Earth�s atmosphere

A photograph of downtown Houston, Texas, taken from a drone at sunset.

an older woman taking a selfie

A photo of an Indian woman looking in the mirror

Green carved scarab beetle in a gold setting and a gold chain