Comparison between the two species revealed that the hardness of the exoskeleton in the vent crab (Austinograea sp.) was much higher than that in the coastal crab (C. japonica). In particular, the epicuticle was the hardest part of the vent crab’s exoskeleton. Indeed, it is one of the hardest biological materials ever reported compared with the hard parts (e.g., exoskeletons, shells, and teeth) of other species such as crustaceans, mollusks, and fish. Furthermore, the thermal stability of the exoskeleton in the vent crab was much higher than that in the coastal crab as expected.
There could be two main reasons how to vent crab has acquired superior hardness. First, the epicuticle layer, which has high fracture resistance and excellent energy dissipation from external threats 3, is thicker than that of the coastal crab. In addition, the contents of aluminum and sulfur elements constituting the epicuticle are significantly higher than those of coastal species. Aluminum existed in the form of a gel in the exoskeleton of amphipods living in the Mariana Trench, which is beneficial to withstand high pressure 9. Sulfur could also play a role in improving the mechanical properties as shown in gastropod shells living in deep-sea hydrothermal vents 3. The reason for the high content of aluminum in the exoskeleton may be a characteristic of the seawater around the hydrothermal vents 13.
In a previous study on the exoskeleton of A. rodriguezensis, the estimated values of the mechanical properties of the endocuticle layer were superior to those of the epicuticle layer 8. The major difference between our present study and the previous study is probably due to the mechanical anisotropy of the exoskeleton. Lian & Wang 14 studied the differences in the mechanical properties of the cross-section and in-plane section, and they revealed that the mechanical properties of the in-plane section could play a role as an indicator of resistance to external threats. The results of this study suggest that the reason in the mechanical properties of the cross-section is higher than those of the in-plane section may be due to resistance to other factors (temperature or pressure) rather than resistance to external intrusion, a topic that requires further study.
The exocuticle and endocuticle layers are made with a Bouligand structure, which is known to prevent fractures 15. The maximum thickness of one layer of the Bouligand structure (MTOB), known to have a negative correlation with hardness 14, was significantly higher in the vent crab than in the coastal crab (27.91 ± 1.12µm for vent species and 20.62 ± 1.7µm for coastal species). Even though the MTOB in the endocuticle of the vent crab was thicker than that of the coastal crab, however, the endocuticle of the vent crab had significantly higher hardness than that of the coastal species. Such an MTOB may not greatly affect the mechanical properties.
In the first stage of weight loss after TGA, where the difference in residual mass was the greatest between the two species, the vent crabs showed a reduction in mass by approximately 37.61% of the coastal species. This effect was due to the degradation of water from hydrophilic groups in chitin chains constituting the exoskeleton. ATX, a carotenoid-based compound detected in coastal exoskeletons, has very low thermal stability and is decomposed at approximately 100°C, which may reduce the thermal stability of the exoskeleton. The presence of ATX in the coastal species can be explained by the existence of light, as in a light-free environment (deep-sea hydrothermal vent) there is no need to use color such as camouflage to avoid predators or attracting mates 16. The second stage corresponds to the decomposition of chitin a representative organic material in the exoskeleton. In this stage, only chitin was decomposed in the vent crab, but unsaturated fatty acids (220–365°C) constituting carotenoid-based compounds were also decomposed along with chitin in the coastal species. The third stage represents the calcium carbonate constituting the exoskeleton, which is decomposed from CaCO3 to CaO and CO2 17. Exoskeletal calcium carbonate interferes with the pronouncement of chitin amides I and II, thus inhibiting the thermal stability of chitin 17. Although the hydrothermal species contains a high proportion of calcium carbonates, the thermal stability of the vent crab is greater than that in the coastal species. This result may be due to the difference in the ratio of chitin and calcium carbonate constituting the crustacean exoskeleton.