Shipworm is a wormlike marine animal that bores into wood. A shipworm lives in the tunnel it makes. It bores using a small two-pieced shell at the front end of its body. It then lines the tunnel with a white shelly material. Shipworms draw in food and water with tubelike organs called siphons.
Young shipworms look like tiny clams and can move about freely. But they soon attach themselves to wood and begin to bore a tunnel. As the shipworm grows, it bores deeper into the wood. Some shipworms make tunnels more than 3 feet (90 centimeters) long. Shipworms can severely weaken wooden piers and other structures.
