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Shipworms have long been a menace to humankind, sinking ships, undermining piers, and even eating their way through Dutch dikes in the mid-1700s. But in 2019, researchers found the first shipworm that eschewed wood for a very different diet: rock.
Researchers first spotted the species (Lithoredo abatanica) in 2006 in thumb-size burrows in the limestone banks of the Abatan River in the Philippines. But it wasn’t until 2018 that scientists were able to study the organism in detail.
The rock-eating shipworm is quite different from its wood-eating counterpart, the team reported. Really clams, all shipworms have two shrunken shells that have been modified into drill heads. Hundreds of sharp invisible teeth cover the shells in the wood eater, but the rock-eating shipworm has just dozens of thicker, millimeter-size teeth that scrape away rock.
Read more: https://scim.ag/3KogbY9
FOOTAGE CREDIT: MARVIN A. ALTAMIA AND REUBEN SHIPWAY
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