Strongest Material In Nature Found In Small Shellfish

The strongest natural material known to man might be found in a small shellfish that clings to rocks around British shores . Researchers discovered that limpets – small aquatic snail-like creatures with conical shells – have teeth with biological structures so strong they could be copied to make cars, boats and planes of the future.

Until now, spider silk was considered the hardest material in nature because of its super-strength and potential applications in everything from bullet-proof vests to computer electronics, but scientists from the University of Portsmouth discovered that the teeth of this tiny shellfish contain a hard mineral known as goethite, which forms in the limpet as it grows.

“Limpets need high strength teeth to rasp over rock surfaces and remove algae for feeding when the tide is in. We discovered that the fibers of goethite are just the right size to make up a resilient composite structure. This discovery means that the fibrous structures found in limpet teeth could be mimicked and used in high-performance engineering applications such as Formula 1 racing cars, the hulls of boats and aircraft structures.