- [Narrator] It was a trial that captivated a nation.
- [Male News Anchor] Lorena Bobbitt.
- [Female News Anchor] Lorena Bobbitt.
- [Male News Anchor] Lorena Bobbitt.
- Took a knife.
- [News Announcer] Cut off her husband's penis.
- [Narrator] But what does Lorena Bobbitt
have to do with this thing?
(bubbling)
(gentle music)
Let's take a step back.
This is the Bobbit worm.
It's a species of Eunice, Euna--
- [Man] Eunice.
- [Narrator] Thanks, Terry.
- [Terry] You're most welcome.
- [Narrator] That's Dr. Terry Gosliner.
- [Terry] T-E-R-R-Y, G-O-S--
- [Man] He's a senior curator at
the California Academy of Sciences.
- [Terry] And I do research on coral reefs
around the world.
- [Narrator] He's the one who gave the Bobbit worm
its name.
They go way back.
- [Terry] In 1992, I went to the Philippines,
and I saw my first Bobbit worm.
To actually see it in action was really
one of the most amazing things I've seen.
(lively music)
- [Narrator] This thing has nope, nope, nope
written all over it.
- [Terry] I'm sorry, what?
- [Narrator] From it's spiked glowing exoskeleton.
- [Terry] And the body is very iridescent, shiny.
- [Narrator] To its spring-loaded jaws.
- [Terry] They just spring shut, like a bear trap.
- [Narrator] And its unique predatory style.
- [Terry] When it sees a fish, it pops more and more
out of the water, and then grabs the fish
and takes it back into the sand.
(people gasp)
- [Woman] What?
- [Narrator] Anyway, after years of research
in the Indo-Pacific, Dr. Gosliner published this book.
- [Terry] Coral Reef Animals of the Indo-Pacific.
- [Narrator] When it came time to name the worm,
Dr. Gosliner found an unlikely source of inspiration.
- [Terry] There was this guy named John Wayne Bobbitt,
who had cheated on his wife, and while he was sleeping
one night, she cut off his penis and threw it
in a field nearby.
- [Narrator] Wait, what?
And the worm?
- [Terry] Basically the ability to use his massive jaws
to cut the spinal cord of a fish was something that
reminded me of what Lorena Bobbitt did to her husband.
- [Narrator] So there you have it.
Something else to keep you up at night.
- [Terry] I've never had nightmares about it.
- [Narrator] Yeah, whatever, Dr. Terry.