Supports the body, acts as a base for muscles and tendons.

large_STRUCTURAL SUPPORT_ Ammonite Macro- Pattern and Flash by cobalt123 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0  (2).jpg

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thumbnail_STRUCTURAL SUPPORT_ Ammonite Macro- Pattern and Flash by cobalt123 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0  (2).jpg

STRUCTURAL SUPPORT_ Ammonite Macro- Pattern and Flash by cobalt123 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0  (2).jpg

Structural support

Shields the body from external forces, as with armors.

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Shielding

Creates adhesion or friction to improve grip.

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Surface interaction

Involved in a sensory behavior, as in light or infrared sensors.

thumbnail_Sensing_transverse Flower Fly - (Eristalis transversa) Head by Thomas Shahan is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0  (2).jpg

Sensing_transverse Flower Fly - (Eristalis transversa) Head by Thomas Shahan is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0  (2).jpg

Sensing

Regulating flux between inside and outside, e.g. of water, gas, heat.

thumbnail_SEPARATION_ Sea Cucumber by Rob Hughes is licensed under CC BY 2.0  (2).jpg

SEPARATION_ Sea Cucumber by Rob Hughes is licensed under CC BY 2.0  (2).jpg

Separation

Aids in mobility or movement. with movement of Individual tiles translating to larger deformations of the overall structure (e.g. in armored animals that roll their bodies).

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MOBILITY_ Seahorse by shellac is licensed under CC BY 2.0  (2).jpg

Mobility

Controls the optical appearance of the structure or organism by reflecting or refracting light

Optic

The coding is an informed guess, there are no scientific references available for confirmation. If you know of one, please write us a mail!

The surface is covered with more than 100 tiles (i.e. you would never try to count them by eye).

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Fine

The surface is covered with between 10 and 100 tiles (i.e. you could count them, but you wouldn't be happy).

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Medium

The surface is covered with fewer than 10 tiles (i.e. you are easily able to count them).

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Coarse

A gradual shift from one grain to another.

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Tapering

large_Mineral_A New Look at the Root of the Problem by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory - PNNL is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0  (2).jpg

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small_Mineral_A New Look at the Root of the Problem by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory - PNNL is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0  (2).jpg

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Mineral_A New Look at the Root of the Problem by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory - PNNL is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0  (2).jpg

Mineral

large_Protein_Scanning electron microscopy of collagen fibers by National Institutes of Health (NIH) is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 (2).jpg

medium_Protein_Scanning electron microscopy of collagen fibers by National Institutes of Health (NIH) is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 (2).jpg

small_Protein_Scanning electron microscopy of collagen fibers by National Institutes of Health (NIH) is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 (2).jpg

thumbnail_Protein_Scanning electron microscopy of collagen fibers by National Institutes of Health (NIH) is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 (2).jpg

Protein_Scanning electron microscopy of collagen fibers by National Institutes of Health (NIH) is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 (2).jpg

Protein

large_Sugar_Biofilm of Desulfovibrio Desulfuricans by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory - PNNL is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0  (2).jpg

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thumbnail_Sugar_Biofilm of Desulfovibrio Desulfuricans by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory - PNNL is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0  (2).jpg

Sugar_Biofilm of Desulfovibrio Desulfuricans by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory - PNNL is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0  (2).jpg

Sugar

large_Other_Water Droplets on a Tungsten Wire, EPSE Image from ZEISS EVO by ZEISS Microscopy is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.jpg

medium_Other_Water Droplets on a Tungsten Wire, EPSE Image from ZEISS EVO by ZEISS Microscopy is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.jpg

small_Other_Water Droplets on a Tungsten Wire, EPSE Image from ZEISS EVO by ZEISS Microscopy is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.jpg

thumbnail_Other_Water Droplets on a Tungsten Wire, EPSE Image from ZEISS EVO by ZEISS Microscopy is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.jpg

Other_Water Droplets on a Tungsten Wire, EPSE Image from ZEISS EVO by ZEISS Microscopy is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.jpg

Other

The coding here is more of an informed guess, as there is no scientific reference available to us for confirmation. If you do have one, please let us know via mail.

Virus

Plant

invertebrate animal with exoskeletons, incl. insects, crabs, spiders


Arthropod

segmented worms, both terrestrial and marine

Annelid

soft-bodied invertebrate, often with hard shells, incl. snails, mussels and octopuses

Mollusc

marine animal with radial symmetry, incl. sea urchins, sea stars

Echinoderm

fish with mostly cartilage skeleton, incl. sharks, rays

Cartilaginous fish

Bony fish

a clade of amphibians, incl. frogs and toads

Anura

a clade of amniotes (egg-laying tetrapods), incl. birds and reptiles

Sauropsida

warm-blooded vertebrate animal with hair, incl. elephants, beavers

Mammal

eukaryotes that don’t belong in the other listed groups

segmented micro-animal, colloquially called “water bears”

Tardigrade

The tessellation is a symmetrical and therefore predictable pattern, based on a regular base grid.

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Regular

Strip tessellations arranged along just one axis.

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Uni-directional

A tessellation without symmetry, formal arrangement or continuity, mostly comprising irregular tile shapes.

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Irregular

Matrix tessellations arranged along two axes.

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 Bi-directional

Non-overlapping tessellations where tile edges are in direct contact, abutting but not interlocking.

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Edge to edge

 Adjacent tiles overlap each other. This is common for scaled skins, as in fishes and snakes, where plate-like scales protrude from the surface and partially extend over each other. Overlapping tiles are usually thin and flat.

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Overlapping

An edge-to-edge interaction between complex tile shapes, as seen in jigsaw puzzles. To achieve this behaviour, tile edges must show a mutual shape dependency, where the edge shape of one tile is the “negative” of the other.


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Interlocking

Tiles separated from one another, generally with a visible gap between them (sometimes filled with joint material).

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Gapped

* The coding here is more of an informed guess, as there is no scientific reference available to us for confirmation. If you do have one, please let us know via mail.

A tile with only ‘small’ internal angles (<180° vertex angles); can be a ‘polygonal’ or ‘non-polygonal’ tile.

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Simple

A tile with at least one ‘large’ internal angle (a vertex angle >180°), as occurs when a tile has an angular process jutting off of one side; can be a ‘polygonal’ or ‘non-polygonal’ tile.

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Complex

A geometric tile with pointed corners; can be a ‘simple’ or ‘complex’ tile. 

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Polygonal

A tile with undulating or rounded edges, lacking pointed corners; can be a ‘simple’ or ‘complex’ tile.  