Fig. 1: Hierarchical structure of a brachiopod Discinisca tenuis shell.
From: Mechanical adaptation of brachiopod shells via hydration-induced structural changes
a Top-down optical micrograph of a dry brachiopod Discinisca tenuis shell. Scale bar is 2 mm. b Cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy images of the dry shell at increasing magnification. Left: low magnification image showing the cross-section across the z-axis. Right: high magnification of the area marked by the dotted square. Scale bars are 20 µm (left), 2 µm (right). c High-angle annular dark-field scanning-transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) images of a thin section from a dry shell. Scale bars are 200 and 20 nm. White arrows point to the organic matrix component (dark areas) surrounding the mineral (bright areas). d Cross-sectional electron micrograph acquired with backscattered electrons (BSE) of a fully hydrated shell thin section folded in two. Scale bar 50 µm. Source data for this figure are available at the University of Edinburgh DataShare, data identifier https://doi.org/10.7488/ds/305667.
