Polarised light micrograph of the tongue, or radula, of the common limpet (Patella vulgata). The tongue contains many rows of teeth which are used to scrape algae off the surface of rocks. The teeth are made of a mineral-protein composite, found to be the strongest biological material tested to date.

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Size: 5639px × 3752px
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Photo credit: © ANDY DAVIES/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -, anatomical, anatomy, animal, background, biological, biology, fauna, gastropoda, geothite, light, limpet, lm, marine, material, micrograph, microscope, microscopy, mineral, mollusc, mollusca, mollusk, nature, odontophore, patella, polarised, protein, radula, rasp, rasping, snail, strength, strongest, teeth, tensile, tongue, vulgata, yellow, zoological, zoology