Critters of the Chesapeake Bay

Critters of the Chesapeake Bay Shipworms

Shipworms Shipworms are not worms. Think you know what they are?

Shipworms Shipworms are actually clams.

Shipworms Shipworms get their name from their long, narrow, cylindrical bodies.

Shipworms A closer look at the creature reveals a shell at its front. This shell has two halves with a gap in between, like a clamshell.

Shipworms These termites of the sea have an organ full of bacteria that digest wood. They eat sawdust which they produce as they scrape through the wood.

Shipworms The bacteria take nitrogen from the water and convert it to protein for the worm. The bacteria, in return, get nutrients form their host.

Shipworms Shipworms begin life in the plankton. When it finds a piece of wood, it uses its shell to eat its way into the wood.

Shipworms As the shipworm grows, so does the burrow. Some worms can be as long as six feet.

Shipworms Their breathing siphons remain at the surface of the wood as they grow to obtain their needed oxygen.

Shipworms Once a shipworm claims a home, its stuck there for life.

Shipworms Even when removed intact and uninjured, the shipworms are unable to dig new burrows!

Shipworms Shipworms play an important role in reducing the amount of driftwood in the world’s oceans.

Critters of the Chesapeake Bay