Object Status:
Unlocated
Accession Date:
September 1777
Primary Source Reference:
Du Simitière Memorandum Books, Library of Congress, fol. 25v
Notes:
Possibly from Jamaica. Teredo is a genus of highly modified saltwater clams which bore in wood and live within the tunnels they create. They are commonly known as "shipworms," and are marine bivalve molluscs in the taxonomic family Teredinidae. The type species is Teredo navalis, pictured here.
Andrew Caldwell (1722-1788) was a Philadelphia merchant who during the Revolution commanded the Pennsylvania Navy which repelled the British ships Roebuck and Liverpool (Memorial to Commodore John Barry [Philadelphia, 1907], p. 3).
Du Simitière's Scientific Name:
Teredo
Current Scientific Name
Teredo navalis
