People are horrified by meat-eating beach worms that can grow up to three metres

Australia is full of creatures that would keep some people awake at night.

Funnel-web spider? Forget about it. Box jellyfish? Absolutely not. Blue-ringed octopus? How about no.

Well, we've got another species to add to your list.

The Australonuphis is also known as an Australian beach worm and they are lurking just beneath the sand surface at the beach.

Yes, as you stroll along the shoreline on a beautiful stretch of sand there are loads of these worms that are waiting for their next meal.

Thankfully humans aren't on the top of their meal plan, but that's not to say they won't bite you.

They are attracted to the surface by the stimulus of food like decaying meat, fish and seaweeds and a video recently went viral showing how they waste no time exposing themselves when they get a whiff of some food.

Holding half a fish, a person can be seen in the clip putting the meat onto the sand and an Australonuphis pops up in seconds.

People have been well and truly horrified after seeing the footage on social media.

One person said: "I already wanted to stay away from Australia and now I want to live in another planet with no Australia."

Another added: "Ok that’s one place off the list."

A third wrote: "Yep never going barefoot on a beach again thx!"

There are millions of them on beaches in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, which is always a fun thought.

Some social media users pointed out that they would be incredible bait in fishing and they would be absolutely correct.

According to Fishing Australia, these little worms are 'highly valued as bait'.

But we really shouldn't say 'little' when referring to Australonuphis.

These bad boys can grow up to three metres in length. Yeah, they can definitely be on the list with spiders, snakes and sharks.

But if you thought these were terrifying, wait until you see this.

Instagram/@coastal_foraging_with_craig

A coastal forager was out in the South West of Wales when he came across something you might expect to see in a horror film.

In a post to his Instagram account, Craig shared a snap of the snapper, with its mouth gaping wide, displaying rows and rows of razor sharp gnashers.

The bizarre looking creatures are thought to date back around 340 million years, so they're made of stern stuff.

It was a Sea Lamprey and they feed on tiny algae and microorganisms until they migrate to sea to prey on larger fish

Topics: Australia, Animals

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Senior Journalist at LADbible. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign. He is in charge of the LADbible Australia editorial content and social presence.

@stewartperrie