Dry rot be more distinctive in these species than water translocation. Water translocated in this fashion carries nutrients to the extremities of the organism; not, as is sometimes inferred, to simply render dry timber wet enough to attack. Coggins goes into more detail about water movement in "Serpula lacrymans". The perpetual saturation of wood with water also inhibits dry rot, as does perpetual dryness. "Dry rot" would appear to be a paradoxical term seemingly indicating decay of a substance by a fungus without the presence of water. However, its historical usage dates back to the distinction between decay of cured wood in
Serpula boats in many coastal areas around the world. They are found at depths ranging from intertidal to at least 800 meters. Predators include predatory starfish such as the Ochre Sea Star ("Pisaster ochraceous"). "Serpula" has lived since the Cretaceous period, according to fossils found in the Cretaceous Black Creek Formation of North Carolina. The funnel-shaped, symmetrical peristomium is fused with the prostomium to form the head, at the anterior end of the body. Worms of the genus "Serpula" have two photoreceptors or "eyespots" on the peristomium. The prostomium bears a branchial "crown", a specialized mouth appendage which resembles a fan