Vermiculation is a surface pattern of dense but irregular lines, so called from the Latin vermiculus meaning "little worm", because the shapes resemble worms, worm-casts or worm tracks in mud or wet sand. The word may be used in a number of contexts, for patterns that have little in common. The adjective vermiculated is more often used than the noun.
Vermiculation naturally occurs in patterns on a wide variety of species, for example in the feathers of certain birds, for which it may provide either camouflage, or decoration. Several species are named for this trait, either in English or by the Latin vermicularis.
It also appears in architecture as a form of rustication where the stone is cut with a pattern of wandering lines. In metalwork, vermiculation is used to form a type of background found in Romanesque enamels, especially on chasse reliquary caskets. In this case the term is used for what is in fact a dense pattern of regular ornament using plant forms and tendrils. In Ancient Roman mosaics Opus vermiculatum was the most detailed technique, and pieces are often described as "vermiculated" in English.
Several species of owls are named for their vermiculated patternsVermiculated fishing-owl (Scotopelia bouvieri), an owl species found in AfricaVermiculated eagle-owl or greyish eagle-owl (Bubo cinerascens), an owl speciesVermiculated screech-owl (Megascops guatemalae), an owl speciesOtherVermiculated angelfish, a Chaetodontoplus marine angelfishVermiculate parrotfishVermiculate shrew or Xanthippe's shrew (Crocidura xantippe), AfricaVermiculated tree frog (Leptopelis vermiculatus), AfricaVermiculated spinefoot (Siganus vermiculatus), also known as Maze Rabbitfish, is a species of rabbitfishSome species have patterns that look like little worms, others actually are little worms. Some of these names have now been superseded.
Alcinoe vermicularis, in the Ocyropsidae family of ctenophoresAlnus vermicularis, an alder treeBlutaparon vermiculare (or Gomphrena vermicularis, Philoxerus vermicularis), plant in the AmericasBurmagomphus vermicularis, a dragonflyChelonistele vermicularis, a species of orchidClavaria vermicularis a fungusCobelura vermicularis, a species of longhorn beetlesDendrolaelaps vermicularis, a mite speciesEncheliophis vermicularis, a worm pearlfish speciesEnterobius vermicularis, a parasitic nematode, the human threadworm or pinwormEntomacrodus vermiculatus, a species of combtooth blenny native to the Indian OceanLacrymaria vermicularis, a ciliate protist speciesMedicago vermicularis, a plant now usually called Medicago coronataOphiobatrachus vermicularis, a salamanderPhiledone vermicularis, a mothPseudanthus vermicularis, Australian plantSepia vermicularis, known as the common cuttlefish or ink-fish, endemic to South AfricaSerpula vermicularis, a segmented marine wormTakifugu vermicularis, the Purple puffer, a species of Asian pufferfishThamnolia vermicularis, a fungus species in AustraliaTurritella vermicularis, an extinct species of sea snailTyphlops vermicularis, the European blind snake or European worm snake, no larger than a wormVermiculate atrophoderma (Atrophodermia vermiculata) a genetic skin diseaseA variant form of rustication (architecture)The rock texture myrmekite is composed of vermicular worm–like intergrowths of quartz and feldspar.
