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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
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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

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References

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