Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Spiralia
Cladus: Lophotrochozoa
Phylum: Mollusca
Classis: Bivalvia
Subclassis: Heterodonta
Ordo: Myoida
Familia: Teredinidae
Subfamilia: Teredininae
Genus: Teredo
Species: T. navalis
Teredo is a genus of highly modified saltwater clams which bore in wood and live within the tunnels they create. They are commonly known as "shipworms;" however, they are not worms, but marine bivalve molluscs (phylum Mollusca) in the taxonomic family Teredinidae. The type species is Teredo navalis.[1]
The tunneling habit of species in the genus inspired the name of the Teredo network tunneling protocol. The submarine HMS Teredo may also have been named after this genus, which works invisibly, below the surface, and can be very damaging to marine installations made of wood.
Diet
Like most marine based bivalves, teredo worms are primarily filter feeders and consume mostly seston, and not wood.[2] Wood supplements their primary diet and is consumed with the assistance of bacteria inside their [gill] cells.[3] However, wood is not a necessary part of their diet and they can live on the surface both of wooden and non-wooden structures.[4]
This photo demonstrates teredo worms do not require wood to survive and can damage non-wooden structures. This photo is of an epoxy-fiber glass vessel. Hole depths were less than 10mm. Remnants of a casing on the surface of the hull appear bottom right.
Species
Species within the genus Teredo include:
Teredo aegypos Moll, 1941
Teredo bartschi Clapp, 1923
Teredo bitubula Li, 1965
Teredo clappi Bartsch, 1923
Teredo fulleri Clapp, 1924
Teredo furcifera Martens in Semon, 1894
Teredo johnsoni Clapp, 1924
Teredo mindanensis Bartsch, 1923
Teredo navalis Linnaeus, 1758
Teredo poculifer Iredale, 1936
Teredo portoricensis Clapp, 1924
Teredo somersi Clapp, 1924
Teredo triangularis Edmondson, 1942
Gallery
Teredo or Turu extracted from mangrove wood near Joanes, Marajó island, Brazil. This Turu is 1.5 cm in diameter and approximately 50 cm long (note that the tail is broken off).
Teredo or Turu extracted from mangrove wood near Joanes, Marajó island, Brazil. This Turu is 1.5 cm in diameter and approximately 50 cm long (note that the tail is broken off).
See also
Teredora princesae
References
Serge Gofas (2004). "Teredo Linnaeus, 1758". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species.
Paalvast, Peter; van der Velde, Gerard (2013-07-01). "What is the main food source of the shipworm (Teredo navalis)? A stable isotope approach". Journal of Sea Research. 80: 58–60. Bibcode:2013JSR....80...58P. doi:10.1016/j.seares.2013.03.003. hdl:2066/117330. ISSN 1385-1101. S2CID 59488004.
"How a Ship-Sinking Clam Conquered the Ocean". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
Taub, Matthew (2018-10-15). "A Century Ago, Wood-Eating Worms Devastated San Francisco Bay". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
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