Ultrastructure and development of iron mineralization in the radular teeth of Cryptochiton stelleri (mollusca)

A study of the mineralization processes of the radular teeth in Cryptochiton stelleri shows that the iron minerals are precipitated inside an organic matrix which forms an open-mesh framework. In the immature teeth, the earliest detected phase of mineralization consists of a new ferric compound whose structure remains to be determined. In the mature teeth phase, transformation leads to a change from the ferric mineral to magnetite (Fe₂O₃ · FeO). Crystalline and paracrystalline ferritin granules occur within the epithelial cells associated with the immature teeth.