The strongest biological material on Earth comes from snails

The strongest biological material on the planet comes from somewhere you might not expect: the teeth of aquatic snails.

Limpets, a class of snails whose shells lack obvious coiling, have teeth made of goethite, a composite mineral with incredible strength. The limpets' teeth are stronger than spider silk and "all but the very strongest of man-made materials," BBC News reports.

A study published in the Royal Society's journal Interface found that goethite's incredible strength is owed to its tightly threaded fibers. The researchers believe the design limpets' teeth could influence and improve the strength of man-made materials.

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"Biology is a great source of inspiration as an engineer," Asa Barber, lead author of the study, told BBC News. "These teeth are made up of very small fibers, put together in a particular way — and we should be thinking about making our own structures following the same design principles."