Vermiculation is a surface pattern of dense but irregular lines, so called from the Latin vermiculus meaning "little worm" because the shapes resemble worms, worm-casts, or worm tracks in mud or wet sand. The word may be used in a number of contexts for patterns that have little in common. The adjective vermiculated is more often used than the noun.
Vermiculation naturally occurs in patterns on a wide variety of species, for example in the
feathers of certain
birds, for which it may provide either
camouflage[1] or decoration. Several species are named after this trait, either in English or by the Latin vermicularis.
It also appears in
architecture as a form of
rustication where the stone is cut with a pattern of wandering lines. In metalwork, vermiculation is used to form a type of background found in
Romanesque enamels, especially on
chasse reliquary caskets. In this case the term is used for what is in fact a dense pattern of regular ornament using plant forms and tendrils. In Ancient Roman
mosaics, opus vermiculatum was the most detailed technique, and pieces are often described as "vermiculated" in English.
Species named "vermiculated"
Several species of
owls are named for their vermiculated patterns