Life

Spikes, claws and stingers have no single best shape

Cataloging nature’s pokey bits reveals a trade-off between durability and effective piercing

A collage of pointy living images such as a tiger, shark, cactus and more

Cactus spines,  shark teeth and porcupine quills are among the many and varied puncture tools that living things sport.

From left: Gwenvidig/iStock/Getty Images Plus; Matt Dirksen/Moment/Getty Images Plus; Philip Thurston/E+/Getty Images Plus; Vicki Jauron, Babylon and Beyond Photography/Moment/Getty Images Plus

By Emily Conover

Spines, spikes, stingers, teeth, claws, beaks, fangs, tusks: Nature’s prickly bits come in a wide variety, but they all reflect the same trade-off.