In 1503, shipworms honeycombed the vessels Christopher Columbus brought on his fourth voyage, sinking at least two of them. In 1588, teredo, as they are often called colloquially, played a role in Britain’s defeat of the Spanish Armada, weakening the timbers of the Spaniards’ superior fleet and making it more vulnerable to storms and cannonballs. Later, they may have compromised the hull of the Nantucket whaling ship Essex—allowing easier penetration by the bull sperm whale that rammed the boat in 1821, and inspired the literary classic Moby Dick.