Bobbit worm
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The bobbit worm grows larger than any other species in the genus Eunice.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Bobbit worm
- Scientific name
- Eunice aphroditois
- Japanese name
- オニイソメ
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Class
- Polychaeta
- Order
- Eunicida
- Family
- Eunicidae
- Genus
- Eunice
Usually it hides buried in the sand of the sea floor, with just its head sticking out.
How the Bobbit worm lives
In Japan, it lives on rocky coasts from central Honshu southward. It digs a burrow in the sand to live in. It attacks and eats animals such as fish.
すさみ町立エビとカニの水族館千葉県立中央博物館分館 海の博物館Basic data
- Range
- Warm waters of the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans, and elsewhere
Where the Bobbit worm has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- オニイソメ
- 简体中文
- 博比特虫
- 繁體中文
- 博比特虫
- 한국어
- 왕털갯지렁이
- Español
- Gusano Bobbit
- Français
- Ver Bobbit
- Italiano
- Verme di Rimini
- Türkçe
- Bobbit solucanı
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 鳥羽水族館 — オニイソメChecked: 2026-11-04
- 千葉県立中央博物館分館 海の博物館 — 令和７年度収蔵資料展「それはゴカイだ！！」Checked: 2026-11-06
- すさみ町立エビとカニの水族館 — 節分特別展示 鬼は～内でフグは～外？？Checked: 2026-11-06
- 宇久井ビジターセンター — オニイソメChecked: 2026-11-06
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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