Organization and Formation of the Crossed-Foliated Biomineral Microstructure of Limpet Shells.

ABSTRACT: To construct their shells, molluscs are able to produce a large array of calcified materials including granular, prismatic, lamellar, fibrous, foliated, and plywood-like microstructures. The latter includes an aragonitic (the crossed-lamellar) and a calcitic (the crossed-foliated) variety, whose modes of formation are particularly enigmatic. We studied the crossed-foliated calcitic layers secreted solely by members of the limpet family Patellidae using scanning and transmission electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction. From the exterior to the interior, the material becomes progressively organized into commarginal first-order lamellae, with second and third order lamellae dipping in opposite directions in alternating lamellae. At the same time, the crystallographic texture

SUBMITTER: Berent K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10716850 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature