Abstract:

An analysis is made of the fine structure and element composition of egg shell of adélie pengiun, Pygoscelis adeliae by SEM and EDX. The results show that the outer and inner surfaces of the egg shell are irregular platelet like cortex and compactly reticulated fibriform endomembrane respectively. There are three layer structures, in which the texture and compostion exist distinct differences, between the outer cortex and the endomembrane. Among them,the outer and mid layer are mainly composed of calcium carbonate and a small amount of calcium phosphate, The content of calcium and phosphorus is Ca: 95.81% and 97.81%, P:4.19%and 1.87%, SEM observations reveal that the calcium carbonatecalcite layer structure in the outer layer is similar to that in egg shell of other birds or reptiles. However, the main component of the inner layer in the egg shell of adelie pengiun, which is greatly different from the egg shell of other birds or reptiles, is calcium sulphate, containing up to 84.26% sulphur.