''Teredo'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of highly modified saltwater

clams Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve mollusc. The word is often applied only to those that are deemed edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the sea floor or riverbeds. Clams h ...

which bore in wood and live within the tunnels they create. They are commonly known as "

shipworm The shipworms, also called teredo worms or simply teredo (, via Latin ), are marine bivalve molluscs in the family Teredinidae, a group of saltwater clams with long, soft, naked bodies. They are notorious for boring into (and commonly eventual ...

s;" however, they are not

worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

, but marine

bivalve Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class (biology), class of aquatic animal, aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed b ...

mollusc Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...

s (

phylum In biology, a phylum (; : phyla) is a level of classification, or taxonomic rank, that is below Kingdom (biology), kingdom and above Class (biology), class. Traditionally, in botany the term division (taxonomy), division has been used instead ...

''Mollusca'') in the taxonomic family ''

Teredinidae The shipworms, also called teredo worms or simply teredo (, via Latin ), are marine bivalve molluscs in the family Teredinidae, a group of saltwater clams with long, soft, naked bodies. They are notorious for boring into (and commonly eventual ...

''. The

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

is ''

Teredo navalis ''Teredo navalis'', commonly called the naval shipworm or turu, is a species of saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family '' Teredinidae''. This species is the type species of the genus '' Teredo''. Like other species in this family ...

''. The tunneling

habit A habit (or wont, as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. A 1903 paper in the '' American Journal of Psychology'' defined a "habit, from the standpoint of psychology, ...

of species in the genus inspired the name of the Teredo

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

tunneling protocol In computer networks, a tunneling protocol is a communication protocol which allows for the movement of data from one network to another. They can, for example, allow private network communications to be sent across a public network (such as the ...

. The

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

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 Seston (from ) refers to the particles suspended in bodies of water, such as oceans, lakes, and rivers. Small particles of seston may be formed by the breaking down of larger particles amidst the crashing of waves, mixing of water currents, or slow ...

, and not wood. Wood supplements their primary diet and is consumed with the assistance of bacteria inside their

ill ILL, or Ill, or ill may refer to: Places * Ill (France), a river in Alsace, France, tributary of the Rhine * Ill (Vorarlberg), a river in Vorarlberg, Austria, tributary of the Rhine * Ill (Saarland), a river of Saarland, Germany, tributary o ...

cells. However, wood is not a necessary part of their diet and they can live on the surface both of wooden and non-wooden structures. Teredo_Worm_damage_on_a_non-wooden_sailing_vessel

Teredo_Worm_damage_on_a_non-wooden_sailing_vessel

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 * ''

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the starting point of modern zoologic ...

* '' Teredo poculifer'' Iredale, 1936 * ''

Teredo portoricensis ''Teredo portoricensis'', known commonly as the Puerto Rico shipworm, is a species of wood-boring clam or shipworm, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Teredinidae.Turgeon, D. D., J. F. Quinn, Jr., A. E. Bogan, E. V. Coan, F. G. Hochberg, W. ...

'' Clapp, 1924 * '' Teredo somersi'' Clapp, 1924 * '' Teredo triangularis'' Edmondson, 1942

Gallery

File:Teredo_Turu_Shipworm.jpg, Teredo or Turu extracted from mangrove wood near Joanes,

Marajó Marajó () is a large coastal island in the state of Pará, Brazil. It is the main and largest of the islands in the Marajó Archipelago. Marajó Island is separated from the mainland by Marajó Bay, Pará River, smaller rivers (especially M ...

island, Brazil. This Turu is 1.5 cm in diameter and approximately 50 cm long (note that the tail is broken off).

References

External links

* Bivalve genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{bivalve-stub

Diet

Species

Gallery

See also

References

External links