After storms on Gulf beaches, driftwood logs sometimes wash ashore filled with shipworms. Despite the name, shipworms aren’t worms—they’re marine clams that bore into wood and live inside it.
Using tiny shell plates, they tunnel through driftwood, docks, and pilings. Special bacteria help them digest wood, making shipworms an important (and destructive!) part of the Gulf’s marine ecosystem.
In this video, we take a closer look at shipworms exposed in washed-up logs and the damage they leave behind.
