Fig. 1
From: Intertidal exposure favors the soft-studded armor of adaptive mussel coatings
Fabrication, structural diversity and individual components of the mussel cuticle. All panels labeled with (i) represent M. galloprovincialis, (ii) M. californianus, (iii) S. bifurcatus, and (iv) M. capax. a Scheme of cuticle processing in the mussel highlighting the prefabrication of individual granules and surrounding matrix within secretory vesicles in the foot and via injection molding, leading finally to a coalescence and hardening of myriad secreted vesicles as the byssal cuticle; b Images of the four types of mussels selected for this study, (scale bar = 2 cm). c TEM micrographs of the cuticle precursors (scale bar = 0.5 µm); d TEM micrographs of lateral cross-sections of mussel threads (scale bar = 1 µm)
