Also: toucan beak, woodpecker, Darwin's finches, trap-jaw ant, mantis shrimp, dactyl club, Bouligand structure
Bird beaks, ant jaws and mantis shrimp clubs are natural tools shaped for strength, lightness or speed, and some have inspired new impact-resistant materials.
Values as stated in the cited paper's abstract.
| Property | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Trap-jaw ant mandible closing speed | 35–64 m/s | Patek 2006 |
| Trap-jaw ant strike duration (average) | 0.13 ms | Patek 2006 |
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Van Wassenbergh and colleagues measured pecking impacts in three woodpecker species and found the skull acts as a stiff hammer rather than a shock absorber, contrary to the idea behind woodpecker-inspired helmets; models suggest the brain is still safe.
As reported in: Van Wassenbergh, Ortlieb, Mielke et al. (2022). Woodpeckers minimize cranial absorption of shocks. Current Biology. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2022.05.052
Abzhanov and colleagues found that activity of the gene Bmp4 in the developing upper beak matched deep, broad beaks in Darwin's ground finches, and that boosting it in chicken embryos produced similar beak shapes.
As reported in: Abzhanov, Protas, Grant et al. (2004). Bmp4 and Morphological Variation of Beaks in Darwin's Finches. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1098095
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Lamichhaney and colleagues sequenced 120 birds covering all Darwin's finch species and two relatives and found extensive gene flow between species throughout their radiation.
As reported in: Lamichhaney, Berglund, Almén et al. (2015). Evolution of Darwin’s finches and their beaks revealed by genome sequencing. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature14181
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Patek and colleagues found trap-jaw ant (Odontomachus bauri) mandibles close at 35–64 metres per second in about 0.13 milliseconds, with forces over 300 times the ant's body weight, and the ants also use the strike to launch themselves.
As reported in: Patek, Baio, Fisher et al. (2006). Multifunctionality and mechanical origins: Ballistic jaw propulsion in trap-jaw ants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.0604290103
Patek, Korff and Caldwell showed the peacock mantis shrimp's extremely fast strike stores and releases energy through a saddle-shaped spring in its exoskeleton.
As reported in: Patek, Korff, Caldwell (2004). Deadly strike mechanism of a mantis shrimp. Nature. doi:10.1038/428819a
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Seki, Schneider and Meyers studied the structure and mechanical behaviour of the toucan beak.
As reported in: SEKI, SCHNEIDER, MEYERS (2005). Structure and mechanical behavior of a toucan beak. Acta Materialia. doi:10.1016/j.actamat.2005.04.048
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Seki, Bodde and Meyers compared toucan and hornbill beaks and found the stiffness of the toucan's keratin shell is the same lengthwise and crosswise, while the hornbill's may differ by direction.
Publisher update notice: erratum
As reported in: Seki, Bodde, Meyers (2010). Toucan and hornbill beaks: A comparative study. Acta Biomaterialia. doi:10.1016/j.actbio.2009.08.026
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Weaver and colleagues found the peacock mantis shrimp's club combines hydroxyapatite and amorphous mineral phases with a helical (helicoidal) arrangement of chitin fibres, giving several defences against breaking under repeated high-energy impacts.
As reported in: Weaver, Milliron, Miserez et al. (2012). The Stomatopod Dactyl Club: A Formidable Damage-Tolerant Biological Hammer. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1218764
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Grunenfelder and colleagues made impact-resistant composites inspired by the helicoidal structure of the mantis shrimp's club.
As reported in: Grunenfelder, Suksangpanya, Salinas et al. (2014). Bio-inspired impact-resistant composites. Acta Biomaterialia. doi:10.1016/j.actbio.2014.03.022
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