Characterization of the phosphatic mineral of the barnacle Ibla cumingi at atomic level by solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance: comparison with other phosphatic biominerals

Abstract

H frequency) hydrogen-bonded hydrogen phosphate-like molecular/ionic species. There is no resolved signal from discrete OH 2 ions. 13 C SSNMR shows chitin, protein and other organic biomolecules but, unlike bone, there are no significant atomic scale organic matrix -mineral contacts. The poorly ordered hydrogen phosphate-like iblid mineral is strikingly different, structurally and compositionally, from both vertebrate bone mineral and the more crystalline fluoroapatite of the linguliform brachiopods. It probably represents a previously poorly characterized calcium phosphate biomineral, the evolution of which may have reflected either the chemical conditions of ancestral seas or the mechanical advantages of phosphatic biomineralization over a calcium carbonate equivalent.

A new phosphatic‐shelled cirripede (Crustacea, Thoracica) from the Lower Jurassic (Toarcian) of Germany – the oldest epiplanktonic barnacle

“…Subsequently, Reid et al . () used solid‐state nuclear magnetic spectroscopy (SSNMR) to characterize the composition of Ibla as a poorly ordered hydrogen phosphate‐like mineral, which occurs together with chitin, proteins and other organic molecules. The construction of the valves of this genus is highly complex and strongly segmented, and individual elements have a lamellar structure with a plywood‐like motif (Lowenstam and Weiner ; Lowenstam et al .…”

“…From the evidence presented above, it appears to be indisputable that the earliest mineralization of the thoracicans was phosphatic, possibly similar to the material found in Ibla cumingi (Reid et al . ), which they reported to be an unusual hydrogen phosphate‐like species, with a unique and complex ultrastructure (Lowenstam and Weiner ). However, seafloor or early diagenetic recrystallization to francolite in the fossils has destroyed both the ultrastructure and original chemistry of phosphatic biogenic phases (McArthur ), although traces of some structure remain in Eolepas (Fig.…”

“…It has been suggested that apatite, with a Mohs’ scale hardness of 5, provided a harder shell material, more resistant to predator activity than calcite at 2.5–3 (Reid et al . ) and allowed the shell of forms such as the intertidal Ibla to be more delicately constructed. However, the scuta and terga of Ibla actually provide minimal coverage of the soft body.…”

High-resolution structural and elemental analyses of calcium storage structures synthesized by the noble crayfish Astacus astacus

“…Akiva-Tal et al, 2011;Bentov et al, 2010;Habraken et al, 2015;Luquet et al, 2016;Reeder et al, 2013;Reid et al, 2012;Sato et al, 2011). Nevertheless, it is well known that if the main mineral used by invertebrates for hardening their skeleton is calcium carbonate, numerous other minerals are also found, notably phosphate and silica-based minerals Knoll, 2003;Lowenstam, 1972;Lowenstam and Weiner, 1989;Murdock and Donohue, 2011;Simkiss and Wilbur, 1989).…”

“…In crustaceans, the barnacles of the genus Ibla (Cirripedia, Crustacea) have skeleton plates fully composed of carbonate apatite (Lowenstam and Weiner, 1992;Reid et al, 2012), whereas all other Cirripedia have a calcitic skeleton.…”