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Freshwater crayfish have an enamel-like layer on their mandibles, according to new research.
A team of Israeli and German researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces made the discovery. The information appears in Nature Communications.
This particular species of crayfish protects its teeth by generating a high-mineral coating based on calcium phosphate, something that vertebrates generally do. This enamel-like substance acts as a protective layer for the softer under layer.
One of the reasons for the existence of this enamel-like substance stems from the idea that enamel is one of the best substances for coating parts of the body used for chewing.
The researchers analyzed the mandible of Australian freshwater crayfish to come to this conclusion. The research is ongoing, with the research team analyzing aspects of how this material formed on crayfish and what its long-term effects are.
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