Editing Shipworm (section)

== Species ==
{{expert needed|Biology|2=section|reason = evident if one reads until reaching the sentence, "The case of the shipworm is not just the home of the black slimy worm.", and see if you do not agree that there is need for something more than an inexpert reevaluation of the current poorly structured, incompletely and poorly sourced (e.g., 2/3 BBC and NYT) ramble of non-scholarly, non-encyclopedic content.|date=April 2025}}
The [[Teredo (bivalve)|Teredo]] [[genus]] has approximately 20 [[species]] that live in wooden materials such as logs, pilings, ship, and practically any other submerged wooden construction from temperate to [[tropical]] [[ocean]] zones. The species is thought to be native to the [[Atlantic Ocean]] and was once known as the Atlantic shipworm, although its exact origin is unknown.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Didžiulis |first1=Viktoras |title=NOBANIS - Invasive Alien Species Fact Sheet - ''Teredo navalis'' |url=https://www.nobanis.org/globalassets/speciesinfo/t/teredo-navalis/teredo_navalis.pdf |access-date=30 November 2023}}</ref> The longest marine bivalve, ''[[Kuphus polythalamia]]'', was found from a lagoon near [[Mindanao]] island in the southeastern part of the [[Philippines]], which belongs to the same group of mussels and clams. The existence of huge mollusks was established for centuries and studied by the scientists, based on the shells they left behind that were the size of [[baseball bat]]s (length {{convert|1.5|m|ftin|abbr=on|disp=or}}, diameter {{cvt|6|cm|in|frac=2|disp=or}}).<ref>{{cite news | title = This Is a Giant Shipworm. You May Wish It Had Stayed In Its Tube. - T… | website = [[The New York Times]] | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/18/science/giant-shipworm.html | date = 2020-11-15 | archiveurl  = https://archive.today/20201115004201/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/18/science/giant-shipworm.html | archivedate = 2020-11-15 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Live, long and black giant shipworm found in Philippines|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-39626131|publisher=[[BBC|British Broadcasting Company]] |date=18 April 2017}}</ref> The [[bivalve]] is a rare creature that spends its life inside an [[elephant tusk]]-like hard shell made of [[calcium carbonate]]. It has a protective cap over its head which it reabsorbs to burrow into the mud for food. The case of the shipworm is not just the home of the black slimy worm. Instead, it acts as the primary source of nourishment in a non-traditional way. ''K. polythalamia'' sifts mud and sediment with its gills. Most shipworms are relatively smaller and feed on rotten wood. This shipworm instead relies on a beneficial [[symbiotic bacteria]] living in its gills. The bacteria use the [[hydrogen sulfide]] for energy to produce [[organic compound]]s  that in turn feed the shipworms, similar to the process of [[photosynthesis]] used by [[green plants]] to convert the [[carbon dioxide]] in the air into simple [[carbon compounds]]. Scientists found that ''K. polythalamia'' cooperates with different bacteria than other shipworms, which could be the reason why it evolved from consuming rotten wood to living on hydrogen sulfide in the mud. The internal organs of the shipworm have shrunk from lack of use over the course of its evolution.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}} The scientists are planning to study the microbes found in the single gill of ''K. polythalamia'' to find a new possible antimicrobial substance.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}