For the disease of the same name see

Originally an aquatic species, these bloodworms (order Glycera) from the coastal waters of the Atlantic coast, After mutating Bloodworms have made their homes in the dry and dusty wasteland. Despite a total change in habitat, bloodworms have retained two of their original traits. The first of these is their burrowing ability; instead of burrowing into wet sand and silt, their four hollow jaws have become adept at plowing through the tough and dried soil. They use this ability quite a bit, ambushing prey from beneath the surface, and then returning underground to catch their prey unaware again.

The other trait that they kept, alluded to by their style of hunting, is that they are obligate carnivores, requiring meat to survive. They are roughly four to five feet (120 to 150 centimeters) long, so they have no problem ambushing and taking down megafauna such as humans.

Bloodworms were created before the Great War by West-Tek for use in covert warfare. After escaping the laboratories they grew to fit their surroundings  and are now approximately the size of an adult human being. They have spines on the outside of their body in addition to their four-pronged maw. These worms react to the presence of intruders in their territory and will charge the intruders by burrowing through the dirt at high speeds. Upon reaching their prey, they will lunge forth from the ground and attempt to bite their target.

Bloodworm larvae will also inhabit the corpses of large prey, such as brahmin, and come out of the corpse to attack any new prey that wanders by. These brahmin can be spotted from a distance if watched, as they will twitch and bulge slowly.