No wonder it takes a crowbar to detach a limpet from a rock while it's feeding. The mollusc's teeth, seen in the above microscope image, are made from the strongest material yet discovered in the natural world.
When Asa Barber from the University of Portsmouth and his team measured the stretching force needed to break the teeth, they found that the material they are made out of is about six times as strong as spider silk – the previous record holder. The material also matches ultra-resistant carbon fibres, which are the strongest artificial material.
The teeth are both stretchy and strong thanks to their unique composition. They contain millions of aligned nanofibres, made from a natural mineral called goethite, which are embedded in a softer shell of chitin. Amazingly, samples were stretched to four times their original length without losing their elasticity.
Mimicking the structure of limpets' teeth could help engineers build sturdier cars, boats and aircraft, says Barber.
Journal reference: Journal of the Royal Society Interface, DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2014.1326
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