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Kuphus

Specimen image via iDigBio · BY-NC

EntityQ18592651· pop 5· linked from 19 articles

Kuphus is a genus of shipworms, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Teredinidae. While there are four extinct species in the genus, the only extant species is Kuphus polythalamius (also incorrectly spelled as Kuphus polythalamia). It is the longest bivalve mollusc in the world, where the only known permanent natural habitat is Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat in the Philippines.

Species

GENUS

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumMollusca
  3. ClassBivalvia
  4. OrderMyida
  5. FamilyTeredinidae
Habitatmarine

via GBIF

Museum specimens

Specimen records
219
With media
1
Family
Teredinidae
Collections
UWBM, SDSM, CMC, UF, PRI
Recorded in
Fiji, United States, Dominican Republic

Wikidata facts

Instance of
taxon
Parent taxon
Teredinidae
Show 5 more facts
taxon name
Kuphus
taxon rank
genus
start time
25000000-0
Commons category
Kuphus
temporal range start
Oligocene
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~4 min read

Encyclopedic overview

6 sections
Contents
  • Species
  • Taxonomy
  • Fossil record
  • Misidentification as dinosaur remains
  • Distribution
  • References

Kuphus is a genus of shipworms, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Teredinidae. While there are four extinct species in the genus, the only extant species is Kuphus polythalamius (also incorrectly spelled as Kuphus polythalamia). It is the longest bivalve mollusc in the world, where the only known permanent natural habitat is Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat in the Philippines.

Members of this genus secrete calcareous tubes. Based only on the calcareous tube, this species was originally thought by Linnaeus to be a tube worm, so he placed it in the genus Serpula. Despite the fact that Kuphus polythalamius is now known to be a mollusc, its common name is the giant tube worm. Since 1981 however, the name "giant tube worm" has also been applied to the hydrothermal vent species Riftia pachyptila, which is indeed a worm, an annelid.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Kuphus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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