Transition so nice, you do it twice! Shipworms begin their lives with both sets of reproductive organs; when they reach their adult stage they become fully male. At this stage they will release their sperm into the water, and then transition to female and brood fertilized eggs in their gills. After the eggs are released into the water, they will then transition back to male and start the process all over again. A shipworm may go through several cycles of transition between sexes over the course of their lives, which can span up to 3 years.
(Image: A shipworm (family Teredinidae) by Daniel Distel)
The giant shipworm has mostly been known for its elephant tusk-like shells. Now we’ve finally found some live ones - they eat noxious mud and smell like rotten eggs
The first known living sample of a giant, ancient mollusc that previously was known almost exclusively by its shells has been recovered from the Philippines.
A team of researchers have finally come across a live colony of giant shipworms, or Kuphus polythalamia. Washed-up, empty, elephant tusk-like shells first hinted at the existence of this metre-long animal in the 18th century, and there are a few specimens preserved in ethanol in collections around the world. But no one knew exactly what lay within – until now.
Daniel Distel at the Ocean Genome Legacy Center at Northeastern University in Boston and his colleagues were made aware of the animal’s potential location in 2010, when a collaborator pointed out a news story from Philippine TV featuring a local trying to eat one for its supposed medicinal properties. “[It was] amazing! I’ve been looking for them for 20 years,” Distel says. “My friend and mentor Ruth Turner looked for her whole career.”
The TV footage sparked an international search for the giant shipworm. Local researchers embarked on two expeditions, one in 2010 and one in 2011. During the second expedition, they found live specimens of K. polythalamia and transported them to the University of the Philippines to be analysed.
“It’s hard not to be amazed when seeing one in the flesh, even if you know nothing about them,” Distel says. “There is no other animal like them.”
Ever wanted to eat rocks? Then you might be Lithoredo abatanica! This species of shipworm is unusual in that it eats not wood, but rock- specifically limestone. They have special teeth which allow them to burrow into and finely grind the rock, and excrete it as sand.
(Image: Several Lithoredo abatanica in a limestone rock by Dan Distel)
Zebra mussels are small, but they have big appetites! An individual no larger than 6 cm (2 in) long can filter an entire litre (0.26 gal) of water in a single day! Dreissena polymorpha collects plankton and detritus to feed on, and keeps the water column clean so sunlight can encourage the growth of aquatic vegetation.
(Image: A collectionof zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) by Dr. David Jude)
