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, 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.

Teredo navalis
Scientific 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

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.

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