A Mössbauer spectroscopic study of the forms of storage iron in the larval and adult stages of the lamprey,Geotria australis

The principal forms of storage-iron in the lamprey, Geotria australis, are haemosiderin in the nephric fold of the larval animal and ferritin in the liver of the adult. Mössbauer spectroscopy of the larval haemosiderin showed that about half of the iron was in the form of ferrihydrite (5Fe2O3.9H2O) with the remainder being in the form of a non-crystalline iron oxyhydroxide, suggesting two modes of biomineralization. The cores of the adult liver ferritin gave spectral parameters indicating the iron to be predominantly in the form of ferrihydrite with about 10% being in a non-crystalline phase