Phosphatic shell plate of the barnacle Ibla (Cirripedia): a bone-like structure

Abstract

The carbonate apatite crystals and the segmented structure of the shell plates of the barnacles in the genus Ibla distinguish them from the shell plates of all other barnacles, which are coherent calcitic structures. A detailed study of the hierarchical organization of one of the two shell plate types, the tergum, reveals a remarkably complex structure. Cylinders composed of a chitin-protein complex and nodes of plate-shaped crystals constitute the basic building blocks. The crystals are organized into layered stacks in which the c crystallographic axes are all aligned perpendicular to a 25-nm banded structure. The cylinders are, in turn, ordered in arrays such that parts of each cylinder are aligned in a plane, and parts form arcuate out-of-plane structures. The overall result is a lamellar structure, with a plywood-like motif, that is present throughout an individual segment. A series of segments forms an interlocking mineralized core, which is enclosed within a thick organic envelope. The flexible and complex skeletal structure of the tergum shows some marked similarities to the structure of lamellar bone. Although this is undoubtably a product of convergent evolution, the iblid tergum provides a unique perspective on bone structure, which was heretofore unavailable.