Teredo navalis looks similar to the shipworm Bankia bipalmulata Lamarck 1801. The major distinguishing difference between Teredo navalis and Bankia bipalmulata is that the lateral awns (fleshy projections that attach roughly a third of the way down the body) are longer in Bankia bipalmulata. These awns are so long in Bankia bipalmulata that they require pieces of shell for structure, which Teredo navalis lacks (Tsunoda and Nishimoto, 1972: 5).