Shell microstructure of mytilids (Bivalvia) from deep-sea hydrothermal vent and cold-water sulfide/methane seep environments

The shell microstructures of 6 mytilid species from deep-sea hydrothermal vent and cold-water sulfide/methane seep sites is characterized by scanning electron microscopy. Examination of fractured and sectioned specimens reveals similar shell microstructures in distinct arrangements. The shell microstructures of the mytilids investigated in this study consist of outer fibrous prismatic and inner nacreous structures, which underlie a periostracal layer. Simple prismatic structure, comprising the adductor and pallial myostraca, is also present. The shelf microstructures of these species exhibit similar complexity as microstructures of the previously described vent mussel Bathymodiolus thermophilus Kenk and Wilson, 1985.