shipworm

shipworm or teredo (tĕrē`dō), marine bivalve mollusk of the family Teredinidae, specialized for boring in wood. A shipworm is not a worm, but a greatly elongated clam. Its two shells, enclosing only the front end of the body, function as a tool, rather than a protective covering; their ridged and roughened surfaces are used for boring. The burrow (lined with a calcareous coating produced by the clam's mantle) is begun when the animal is in its larval stage and is expanded as it grows. The common shipworm of the North Atlantic Ocean, Teredo navalis, may grow up to 2 ft (60 cm) long, although its shells remain only 1-2 in. (12 mm) long. Shipworms feed on wood particles and minute organisms. They do enormous damage to piers and ships, and although they are deterred by chemicals, control is still a problem. Shipworms are classified in the phylum Mollusca, class Pelecypoda or bivalvia, order Eulamellibranchia, family Teredinidae.

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shipworm

 or pileworm

Any of approximately 65 species (family Teredidae) of common marine bivalves that can severely damage wooden structures, including ship hulls and wharves. Its anterior end is covered by a shell; the rest is a tubelike structure, sometimes up to 6 ft (1.8 m) long. File-like ridges on its white shell cut into wood at 8–12 rasping motions a minute. It secretes lime to line its burrow, and its tubelike portion extends back to the burrow opening. It ingests food particles and oxygen from the water; some wood is also ingested as food.

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shipworm [′ship‚wərm]

(invertebrate zoology)

Any of several bivalve mollusk species belonging to the family Teredinidae and which superficially resemble earthworms because the two valves are reduced to a pair of plates at the anterior of the animal or are used for boring into wood.