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Animal profile

Bobbit Worm

Eunice aphroditois

PolychaetaSoft sand and rubble seabeds in warm shallow seas, buried with only the head exposed

Field profile

The bobbit worm is a long predatory polychaete that lives buried in sediment with only its antennae protruding. It seizes passing fish and invertebrates with muscular jaws and drags them below. Records of body length vary widely and species identification in the genus is unsettled.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2025-08-02

Bobbit Worm

The bobbit worm ambushes prey from a buried burrow

Eunice aphroditois lies concealed in sediment with five antennae above the surface. When prey brushes them it strikes upward and closes toothed jaws, sometimes cutting small fish, then withdraws the animal into its burrow.

Read with evidence →

Bobbit Worm | Daily Animal Facts