Scientific name Polydora | Family Spionidae Rank Genus | |
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Similar Spionidae, Polydora cilliata, Scolelepis, Capitella capitata, Pygospio elegans | ||
Polydora is a genus of annelid worms. It contains marine polychaete species that live in mud, holes bored in rocks, and holes bored in the shells of shellfish.
Contents
Some shell- and rock-boring polydora worms leave a characteristic double hole in the rock and shells in which they burrow.
Etymology
From the Ancient Greek Πολυδωρη, from Polydora, daughter of Tethys and Ocean in Greek mythology.
Economic effects
Polydora species are a major economic issue for parts of the shellfish industry. Some species cause "mudblister" on oysters, living inside the oyster shell and roughening its interior surface. Although this makes the oyster grow much more slowly, and makes the shell ugly and harder to sell, the meat of the oyster is still fit to eat.
List of Polydora species
References
Polydora (annelid) Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA