Spider silk, long the strongest known biological material, was knocked off the top spot by a material produced by another invertebrate: the common limpet, says Stuart Blackman.
Limpets use a tooth-coated tongue to rasp algae from rocks. These teeth need to be strong to avoid damage, and indeed are several times stronger than spider silk and on a par with the toughest man made materials.
- What's the difference between spider silk and caterpillar silk?
- Is spider silk - pound for pound - as strong as steel?
- How do animals make silk? And why is it so strong?
Their strength apparently lies in their structure – microscopic mineral splinters embedded in a protein matrix – which scientists are now trying to reproduce in synthetic materials.
- Which species has the strongest skeleton?
- What is the strongest bird in the world? Meet the avian champion weightlifters
- 10 of the strongest animals in the world - there may be some surprises, including an animal that has a particularly powerful tongue
Main image: Limpets have proven to make a very strong material. ©iStock