Publication Date:
2013-02-22
Description:
The cricket is a truculent insect with stiff and sharp teeth as a fighting weapon. The structure and possible biomineralization of cricket teeth are always interesting. Synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, and small angle X-ray scattering techniques were used to probe the element distribution, possible crystalline structures and size distribution of scatterers in cricket teeth. A scanning electron microscope was used to observe the nanoscaled structure. The results demonstrate that Zn is the main heavy element in cricket teeth. The surface of a cricket tooth has a crystalline compound like ZnFe 2 (AsO 4 ) 2 (OH) 2 (H 2 O) 4 . The interior of the tooth has a crystalline compound like ZnCl 2 , which is from the biomineralization. The ZnCl 2 -like biomineral forms nanoscaled microfibrils and their axial direction points towards the top of the tooth cusp. The microfibrils aggregate random...
Print ISSN:
1674-1137
Topics:
Physics
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