Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T06:19:19.524Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A comparison of the strength of echinoderm spines and mollusc shells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

J. D. Currey
J. D. Currey
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of York, York, England
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The echinoderm skeleton is interesting because its material is so different from that of other invertebrates. It is full of interconnecting cavities, and each piece of skeleton seems to be made of a single crystal of rather impure calcite (Nichols & Currey, 1968). An obvious question for a biologist is whether echinoderm skeleton is in some way better mechanically than other, more conventional, skeletal materials.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 55 , Issue 2 , May 1975 , pp. 419 - 424
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1975

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bailey, J. E. & Hill, N. A., 1970. The effect of porosity and microstructure on the mechanical properties of ceramics. Proceedings of the British Ceramic Society, 15, 15–36.Google Scholar
Currey, J. D. & Taylor, J. D., 1974. The mechanical behaviour of some molluscan hard tissues. Journal of Zoology, 173, 395–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nichols, D. & Currey, J. D., 1968. The secretion, structure and strength of echinoderm calcite. In:Cell structure and its interpretation: Essays presented to J. R. Baker, eds. McGee-Russell, S. M. and Ross, K. F. A., 251–61. London: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar
Ryshkewitch, E., 1953. Compression strength of porous sintered alumina and zirconia. Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 36, 65–8.Google Scholar
Wainwright, S., Biggs, W. S., Currey, J. D. & Gosline, J., 1975. Mechanical design in organisms. London: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar
Weber, J., Greer, R., Voight, B., White, E. & Roy, R., 1969. Unusual strength properties of echinoderm calcite related to structure. Journal of Ultrastructure Research, 26, 355–6.Google Scholar