Crystallization in organo-mineral micro-domains in the crossed-lamellar layer of Nerita undata (Gastropoda, Neritopsina)

Abstract

Crossed-lamellar shell microstructure consists of a sophisticated arrangement of interspersed lamellae, which is very commonly found in Gastropoda or Bivalvia shell layers. Its smallest constitutive microstructural units are usually described as sub-micrometric fibers, or rods, and form very ordered and regular patterns. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging confirms the presence of even smaller building units in the form of organo-mineral granules, and we further investigate their internal structure within aragonite crossed-lamellar internal layer of Nerita undata (Gastropoda, Neritopsina) shell. Their coalescence may have controlled anisotropically the propagation of the crystallographic coherence through this complex microstructure, as suggested by the propagation of the microtwinning pattern between neighboring granules.