Teredo navalis

Teredo navalis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Myida
Superfamily: Pholadoidea
Family: Teredinidae
Genus: Teredo
Species:
T. navalis
Binomial name
Teredo navalis
Synonyms
  • Pholas teredo O. F. Müller, 1776
  • Serpula teredo DaCosta, 1778
  • Teredo austini Iredale, 1932
  • Teredo batavus Spengler, 1792
  • Teredo beachi Bartsch, 1921
  • Teredo beaufortana Bartsch, 1922
  • Teredo japonica Clessin, 1893
  • Teredo marina Jeffreys, 1860
  • Teredo morsei Bartsch, 1922
  • Teredo navalis var. occlusa Jeffreys, 1865
  • Teredo novangliae Bartsch, 1922
  • Teredo pocilliformis Roch, 1931
  • Teredo sellii van der Hoeven, 1850
  • Teredo sinensis Roch, 1929
  • Teredo vulgaris Lamarck, 1801

Teredo navalis, commonly called the naval shipworm or turu,[2] 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, this bivalve is called a shipworm because it resembles a worm in general appearance while at the anterior end it has a small shell with two valves, and it is adept at boring through wood.

This species may have originated in the northeast Atlantic Ocean, but has spread around the world. It tunnels into underwater piers and pilings and is a major cause of damage and destruction to submarine timber structures and the hulls of wooden boats.

  1. ^ Rosenberg, Gary (2010). "Teredo navalis Linnaeus, 1758". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2012-04-13.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference estuary was invoked but never defined (see the help page).