A new study has found that strange mollusks – which graze on rocks and nicknamed “roving meatloaf” – have teeth made of a rare iron mineral that was previously only found along rocky coasts, and was only observed in geological samples in very small quantities before.
According to the study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Read also Heavy metal pollution threatens a quarter of the world’s seafood How did the squid pass the marshmallow test?Warming and invasive species are leading to a decline in the number of mollusks in the eastern Mediterranean Japanese scientists document the strangest body regeneration process in two types of marine mollusks
On
ketones
Scientifically known as Cryptochiton stelleri, these strange mollusks follow ketones, are known as “roaming meatloaf” and have a reddish-brown body. Ketones are marine mollusks of varying size also known as “cradle of the sea”, “mail envelope shells”, or more formally “polyplacophorans”.
The ketones have a shell made up of 8 separate plates or valves, and these plates overlap slightly at the front and rear edges, and the shell provides protection at the same time as allowing the ketone to flex upwards when needed to move on uneven surfaces, and even allow the animal to roll into a ball when expelled of rocks.
Ketones live all over the world, from cold waters to the tropics on hard surfaces, for example above or under rocks or in their crevices.
Never seen before
Researchers have discovered a rare iron mineral known as Santabarbarite in the teeth of these rock-grazing mollusks, an amorphous ferric hydroxyphosphate mineral hydrate discovered in Tuscany, Italy in 2000.
The discovery sheds light on how this happens, and the researchers said ketones can scrape food off rocks, strengthening teeth without adding much weight.
Scientists had previously studied ketone teeth, but wanted to learn more about the hollow structure that resembles the root of a human tooth. In this study, the researchers discovered the very hard tooth head by using a few advanced techniques including a synchrotron light source and transmission electron microscopy.
The researchers say the new discovery shows how this strange ketone uses its entire teeth to collect food.
“This mineral has only been observed in geological samples in very small quantities and has never been seen before in a biological context,” said Dirk Guester, senior author of the study from Northwestern University, in a press release posted on the university’s website.
“It has a high water content, which makes it strong and has a low density. We think this may strengthen the teeth without adding much weight.”
biomineralization
Biomineralization is the process by which organisms often produce minerals for hardening of tissues called “tissue mineralization”; It is a very common phenomenon in all taxonomic kingdoms, and more than 60 different minerals have been identified in living organisms.
Organisms mineralized skeletons from 550 million years ago, examples include silicates in algae and diatoms, carbonates in invertebrates and calcium phosphates and carbonates in vertebrates.
These minerals often form skeletal features such as seashells and bone in mammals and birds. Other examples include copper, iron and gold in sediments that contain bacteria.
The most common bio-minerals are the phosphates and carbonate of calcium salts that are used with organic polymers such as collagen and chitin to provide structural support to bones and shells.
The structures of these bio composites are highly controlled, resulting in complex structures that provide multi functional properties, and because this range of metal growth control is desirable for materials engineering applications, there is great interest in understanding and elucidating the mechanisms of biologically controlled liberalization.
And the new discovery helps understand how the entire super-hard ketone tooth is designed to withstand rock chewing. Based on the minerals found in ketone teeth; Researchers have developed ink inspired by the lifelike nature of this mollusk for 3D printing of highly durable materials.