length of goethite fibers has been estimated to be around 420 to 800 nm and when compared with the actual length of the fibers found in the teeth, around 3.1 um, shows that the teeth have fibers much larger than the critical length. This paired with orientation of the fibers leads to effective stress distribution onto the goethite fibers and not onto the weaker chitin matrix in the limpet teeth. Causes of structure degradation The overall structure of the limpet teeth is relatively stable within most natural conditions given the limpet's ability to produce new teeth at a similar rate to the degradation. Individual teeth are subjected to shear stresses as the tooth is dragged along the rock. Goethite as a mineral is a relatively soft iron based material, which increases the chance of physical damage to the structure. Limpet teeth and the radula have also been shown to experience greater levels of damage in CO2 acidified water. Crystal structure Goethite crystals form in at the start of the tooth production cycle and remain as a fundamental part of the tooth with intercrystal space filled with amorphous silica. Existing in multiple morphologies, Prisms with rhomb-shaped sections are the most frequent". The goethite crystals are stable and well formed for a biogenic crystal. The transport of the mineral to create the crystal structures has been suggested to be a dissolution-reprecipitation mechanism as of 2011. Limpet tooth structure is dependent upon living depth of the specimen. While deep water limpets have been shown to have the same elemental composition as shallow water limpets, deep water limpets do not show crystalline phases of goethite. Crystallization process The initial event that takes place when the limpet creates a new row of teeth is the creation of the main macromolecular α-chitin component. The resulting organic matrix serves as framework for the crystallization of the teeth themselves. The first mineral to be deposited is goethite (α-FeOOH), a soft iron oxide which forms crystals parallel to the chitin fibers. The goethite, however, has varying different crystal habits. The crystals arrange in various shapes and even thicknesses throughout the chitin matrix. Still, depending on the formation of the chitin matrix, this can have varying profound effects on the formation of the goethite crystals. The space in between the crystals and the chitin matrix is filled with an amorphous hydrated silica (SiO2). Characterizing composition The most prominent metal by