Teredo

Genus of bivalve mollusc with a long wormlike body clothed in a thin, shelly sheath. It bores into timber, and is very destructive to ships, piers, and submarine cables.

The shell is small and occurs at the thicker end where it protects the various organs. At the more slender end are two tubes, one of which conveys water to the gills and the other expels it with excavated matter.

Classification Teredo belongs to family Teredinidae in order Myoida, subclass Heterodonta, class Bivalvia, phylum Mollusca.