Crystallographic alignment of calcite prisms in the oblique prismatic layer of Mytilus edulis shell

The structure and crystallographic orientation of mineral phase in the oblique prismatic layer of Mytilus edulis shell were studied by SEM, XRD and TEM with selected area electron diffraction (SAED). A crystallographic orientation regulation, i.e. the adjacent 1-5 calcite prisms with the same three-dimensional orientation in the oblique prismatic layer, was found for the first time. It is observed that the calcite prisms in the oblique prismatic layer were grown with their (104) parallel to the shell surface. (C) 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers.