Molluscan Explosion: The Dutch Shipworm Epidemic of the 1730s ... : Arcadia: Explorations in Environmental History 2015, no. 14: Molluscan Explosion: The Dutch Shipworm Epidemic of the 1730s ...

In the fall of 1730 following a relatively minor storm, Dutch dike inspectors in the province of Zeeland discovered a little-known "worm" embedded in the wave breakers that buffered coastal dikes. The animal bored into their wooden components, creating a honeycomb of passages that caused them to snap during the storm. The invader was the naval shipworm (Teredo navalis), a cryptogenic marine mollusk, now found worldwide. Subsequent inspections on the island revealed that nearly every dike protected with wood contained shipworms, prompting a crisis of existential proportions. ...