sand strikers
March 29, 2017 3:39 AM   Subscribe

"Sand strikers, also known as bobbit worms, are primitive-looking creatures that lack eyes, or even a brain. Despite this, they are savage predators who shoot out grapple-like hooks to reel in passing fish."
posted by dhruva (24 comments total) 13 users marked this as a favorite
 
The Wikipedia page for Eunice aphroditois has never heard of such vulgar labels as "Sand Striker".

But it does explain who they got the name "Bobbit Worms" from
posted by rongorongo at 4:17 AM on March 29, 2017 [3 favorites]


Here is a very interesting archived thread about someone who got one accidentally in his aquarium. Fascinating read (skip here for the grand finale).
posted by PontifexPrimus at 4:33 AM on March 29, 2017 [21 favorites]


Underwater graboids, you say?

Someone call Kevin Bacon ...
posted by tocts at 4:59 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]


"In its belly, you will find a new definition of pain and suffering as you are slowly digested over a…thousand years."

"That's pretty dark, Nemo."

posted by leotrotsky at 5:50 AM on March 29, 2017 [3 favorites]


If a tardigrade can learn to ride these, it might be able to unite the fremen.
posted by drezdn at 5:50 AM on March 29, 2017 [26 favorites]


Some fish must really have pissed God off one day.
posted by Segundus at 6:04 AM on March 29, 2017 [3 favorites]


As much as I love my reef tanks, I live in a continuous state of paranoia that a piece of rock will come in with one of these, or another venomous/poisonous/ravenous hitchhiker like a Bristle Worm or Sea Spider.

All part of the enjoyment of having a living ecosystem in your home.
posted by WinnipegDragon at 6:41 AM on March 29, 2017 [3 favorites]


I'm confused. More than a few sources I've found suggest they've not only got brains, but relatively large brains.
posted by edd at 6:51 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]


Also eyes for that matter.
posted by edd at 6:51 AM on March 29, 2017


I just read that Michigan Reefers thread about the guy doing battle with the Bobbitt work in his tank and it was driving me absolutely mad. Kudos to him for having the patience to struggle with it for months on end; I'd have gone nuclear on day one! Smash the side of the tank, take a flamethrower to everything that moves, and take up an entirely different hobby.
posted by ejs at 7:33 AM on March 29, 2017 [3 favorites]


Oh mighty Shai-hulud
Keeper of balance
Bless the Maker and His water
Bless the coming and going of Him
May His passage cleanse the world...

posted by Fizz at 7:34 AM on March 29, 2017 [5 favorites]


I just read that Michigan Reefers thread about the guy doing battle with the Bobbitt work in his tank and it was driving me absolutely mad. Kudos to him for having the patience to struggle with it for months on end; I'd have gone nuclear on day one! Smash the side of the tank, take a flamethrower to everything that moves, and take up an entirely different hobby.
posted by ejs at 9:33 AM on March 29 [1 favorite +] [!]


His tank was a 350g setup, so depending on the corals he was keeping he had likely invested anywhere from $4k to $20k in the tank, possibly more. These tanks take blood, sweat, tears and lots of cash so shutting down entirely is rarely an option.

I had a 20g tank that was wrecked when a powerhead fell and stirred up the sandbed. I lost $1k in livestock alone.
posted by WinnipegDragon at 8:45 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]


You know, when I first read that those things can be up to 3 metres long, I somehow misunderstood as "if you look at the start of the video or the first picture in the wikipedia entry, take the part of the worm that is above ground, and scale the whole thing proportionally to 3 metres length".

I started scouring the wikipedia article for the depths in which this oversized monsters reside; and when I found "Atlantic ocean" instead of the reassuring "only in the darkest trenches of the deepest sea" that I had hoped for, I was immediately filled with an existential dread; fearing that somewhere not so far away, there is a giant worm creature lurking in the shallow water, ready to devour me or everyone I know. (Also, toxin.)

Then I took a closer look at the links, and realised that, actually, they are just long, not large. Phew.
posted by erdferkel at 9:04 AM on March 29, 2017




Swim without rhythm
And you won't attract the woaaaa
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                                                                                    aaaAAAAAAGH!!!
posted by Herodios at 9:08 AM on March 29, 2017 [5 favorites]


Oh mighty Shai-hulud
Keeper of balance
Bless the Maker and His water
Bless the coming and going of Him
May His passage cleanse the world...


May Shai-hulud clear the path before you.
posted by prepmonkey at 9:10 AM on March 29, 2017 [3 favorites]


Y'know, it is hard to admit this about anything, but when it comes to things that live in the ocean, I think maybe HP Lovecraft was right. There is stuff down there that Man Was Not Meant To Know and six-foot-long spring-loaded bitey worms are definitely on that list.

I assume we will all be devoured by these things when the Old Ones return.
posted by darchildre at 9:33 AM on March 29, 2017


I'm going to name it Bitey!
posted by endotoxin at 10:06 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]


Fishugganah!
posted by Oyéah at 10:16 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]


Well, now I know what a real life Saarlac looks like. Thanks, I guess.
posted by Hactar at 10:27 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]


I was impressed by the supportiveness amongst the coral reef bbs crowd. Also, reassured that my own hobbies (cooking, indie rock shows) are rarely infested with 6' long biting worms.
posted by PandaMomentum at 11:27 AM on March 29, 2017 [5 favorites]


Also there's a segment in Peter Jackson's King Kong where the search party has to go through a cave or the bottom of a ravine filled with bitey wormey things. Not all of them make it. The Revenge of Lowly Worm!
posted by sneebler at 11:28 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]


Yeah, multiple sources say they have eyes, and while they don't have the kind of brain a vertebrate has, they have cerebral ganglia like other worms. Which is like a brain, at least from a lay point of view.
posted by mr_roboto at 12:10 PM on March 29, 2017 [3 favorites]


I'm confused. More than a few sources I've found suggest they've not only got brains, but relatively large brains.

Yeah, multiple sources say they have eyes, and while they don't have the kind of brain a vertebrate has, they have cerebral ganglia like other worms. Which is like a brain, at least from a lay point of view.

You know what, the fact that this shitty excuse for science reporting came from the Smithsonian goddamn Institution really grates my nerves.
posted by Trinity-Gehenna at 8:44 PM on March 29, 2017 [3 favorites]


I read that Michigan Reefers thread and I am always a bit saddened by how little some reef tank enthusiasts seem to actually know or care about reef organisms (c.f. cries of "DISGUSTING", etc.).

These things are amazing.
posted by deadbilly at 8:48 PM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]


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