Opihi teeth strongest natural material on Earth

Image of opihi radula courtesy of the University of Portsmouth.

A new study by British scientists claims that the strongest natural material on Earth is the tiny teeth of opihi. The University of Portsmouth study found that the amount of weight opihi teeth can withstand is comparable to a strand of spaghetti holding up a hippopotamus, about five times the strength of most spider silks. Chris Bird, researcher at the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB). “When you eat a lot of opihi, you have a lot of the radula [ribbon-like structures containing the animals’ teeth] that are going to be tearing at the linings of your stomach and intestine as your body processes the opihi.” However, Bird assures that people would have to eat a lot of it for it to become a health problem.

Read more about and watch the video at Hawaii News Now.