A highly conspicuous mineralized composite photonic architecture in the translucent shell of the blue-rayed limpet
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Li-2015-Highly Conspicuous.pdf
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Author(s)
Li, Ling
Kolle, Stefan
Weaver, James C.
Ortiz, Christine
Aizenberg, Joanna
Kolle, Mathias
Date Issued
February 2015
Journal
Nature Communications
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Citation
Li, Ling, Stefan Kolle, James C. Weaver, Christine Ortiz, Joanna Aizenberg, and Mathias Kolle. “A Highly Conspicuous Mineralized Composite Photonic Architecture in the Translucent Shell of the Blue-Rayed Limpet.” Nature Communications 6 (February 26, 2015): 6322.
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Final published version
Abstract
Many species rely on diverse selections of entirely organic photonic structures for the manipulation of light and the display of striking colours. Here we report the discovery of a mineralized hierarchical photonic architecture embedded within the translucent shell of the blue-rayed limpet Patella pellucida. The bright colour of the limpet’s stripes originates from light interference in a periodically layered zig-zag architecture of crystallographically co-oriented calcite lamellae. Beneath the photonic multilayer, a disordered array of light-absorbing particles provides contrast for the blue colour. This unique mineralized manifestation of a synergy of two distinct optical elements at specific locations within the continuum of the limpet’s translucent protective shell ensures the vivid shine of the blue stripes, which can be perceived under water from a wide range of viewing angles. The stripes’ reflection band coincides with the spectral range of minimal light absorption in sea water, raising intriguing questions regarding their functional significance.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms7322
