Animals with Shells - Examples with Pictures

The shell is a structure that protects all or part of an animal's body. Shells occur in nature on both vertebrates and invertebrates. A shell functions as a shield to protect an animal according to its individual needs.

While turtles are perhaps the best-known examples, animals with shells also include shrimp, bivalve mollusks such as clams, and gastropods such as snails. Due to the variety of animals that have a shell, the structure itself can be either rigid and almost indestructible or flexible and membranous. Similarly, some shells cover almost all of an animal's body, while others might cover only part of its body. Some shells are entire, while others are parts of a segmented system. In many species, the shell grows along with the animal, though the way this happens varies between groups.

If you are asking what animals with shells are called, then it's important to note there is no one term. This is because the taxonomy of shelled animals is so large. The shell itself may have different names, but it can always be described as a shell. For example, some marine animals with shells, such as turtles or lobsters, have a carapace, but a snail's shell is simply known as a shell. A turtle's shell is connected to its skeleton, so it is not a separate covering that the animal can leave behind.

As we stated above, an animal's shell is used for protection. The more specific reasons include:

• Offering protection from inclement weather
• Protecting against predators
• Protecting internal organs
• Allowing for better adaptation to the animal's habitat

Additionally, some shells may move, while others are not able to perform this function. Turtles have a shell that covers the main part of their body, but leaves their head, limbs, and tail free. Other species, such as crabs and lobsters, have a shell that covers their entire body. Some animals change their shell as they grow. Crabs molt their shell and have to wait until their new shell hardens. During this time, they are more vulnerable to predators. Some other animals may use their old shell for their own purposes. Molting allows a crustacean to grow, but the new covering needs time to become firm enough to offer effective protection.

For mollusks such as snails and mussels, the shell is made up of mineral tissue. These minerals are secreted by the mollusk itself through a structure known as the mantle. Thanks to this process, the shell is formed on top of the mantle and protects the mollusk's soft body. In animals such as clams, the two parts of the shell can close together, helping to shield the soft tissues inside.

We have now provided you with a list of animals with shells. Included is various information about the characteristics of each animal, as well as a photo. The examples include animals from both land and water, and show how different a protective covering can be.

The Herman's tortoise, like other turtle species, has a short, broad body and a shell consisting of rigid bone scales. Like all tortoises, it is a type of land turtle that does not need to live in water to carry out certain functions. The dorsal part of the carapace is the part that points upwards when the tortoise is right side up. The underneath part is called the plastron.

In this species, the shell has yellow and black coloring, which helps us identify it. In addition to protection, the shell is also a means of thermoregulation, as exposing it to the sun helps radiate heat through the body underneath. This makes access to warm, sunny places useful for regulating body temperature.

The pond slider is a species of semi-aquatic turtle that lives in and around freshwater. It is distributed in the swamps and lagoons of North America and Mexico, and can swim and walk on the banks. It has gained popularity as a pet and can nowadays be found in captivity almost all over the world.

Marine and land turtles have some differences, including their shells. Sea turtles need less resistance from water currents to swim faster. For this reason, they have a smoother and flatter shell.

For land turtles, their shells tend to be harder and have more irregular shapes. This helps camouflage them from predators and can make it harder for predators to get a grip when they bite. These differences also help us differentiate between different turtle species. The shape and profile of a shell can therefore offer clues about how a turtle moves through its habitat.

The giant African snail is an animal with both a shell and antennae. It is a gastropod mollusk that originates in Africa, although it can be found in other parts of the world. In these other places, it is often considered an invasive species. Due to its large size, it is one of the most extravagant land snails. The shell has a spiral shape and protects the snail's internal organs. The snail can also seek refuge from predators by retracting completely back inside its shell. When it retreats, the hard outer covering helps shield its soft body.

The giant clam belongs to a group of marine animals with shells. It is a mollusk, and there are almost 13,000 different species of giant clam. The shell has two parts joined together with a hinge. The edges of these parts are fringed with 4 or 5 vertical folds, helping to distinguish them from other clam species. They live attached to coral reefs and have no head, appendages, or jaws. Like other bivalves, the two halves of the shell protect the animal's soft body.

This is a cephalopod mollusk considered a living fossil due to the age of the species (the earliest fossils date back to the Early Pleistocene epoch). It has a developed and hard shell that can measure from a few millimeters to 30 centimeters. Tentacles appear through the entrance of the shell. The chambered nautilus lives at the bottom of the sea and mainly feeds on fish or carrion. Its shell is divided into chambers, which the animal uses to help control its position in the water.

The Florida stone crab is a decapod crustacean that is distributed along the coasts of Central America and the Eastern USA. The crab's exoskeleton is a shell formed from quinine and calcium carbonate. These components give the crab's shell its hardness, a feature found in various crustacean animals. This exoskeleton moves as the crab grows and includes its claws and pincers. Because the covering cannot stretch, the crab must molt to grow larger.

Reef lobsters are a group of lobster species that are in the same family as crabs. They are characterized by their hard shell, which is spiny or smooth depending on the part of the body. Generally, the carapace is smooth and the spines are on their legs and other parts, although this depends on the individual species. Enoplometopus holthuisi is pictured below, where you can see beautiful, distinct circular and striped markings. The lobsters live on reefs between 20 and 80 m deep, where they feed mainly on fish and carrion. Their markings can vary, making appearance a helpful feature when identifying different reef lobster species.

The sacred scarab is an insect that lives in the Mediterranean, inhabiting swamp areas and river banks. Like other beetle species, it has a hard exoskeleton that acts as its shell. This exoskeleton is made up of various plates, similar to a suit of armor. It protects the insect while still allowing its body to move.

Sacred scarabs are a type of dung beetle, perhaps the most famous type. Part of the reason for this is their links to Ancient Egyptian mythology: the way they roll balls of dung across the land was seen to represent Khepri, the god of the morning sun. The sun rolls across the sky as this animal rolls dung across the land.

This animal with a shell is another crustacean on our list. This type of decapod crustacean lives on reefs located in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It measures up to 6 cm, has 10 legs, and a segmented body. Although it has a shell, it is not as hard as those of some of its crustacean relatives. The shell of this animal starts at the forehead and moves down the thorax, abdomen, and tail in different sectional plates. It feeds by eating parasites off fish in a symbiotic relationship. Its small size and segmented covering allow it to move around the reef while feeding.

An even smaller animal with a shell is the American dog tick, otherwise known as the wood tick. It is an ectoparasite in the mite family. It frequently feeds on mammals such as dogs, cats, and horses. It is notoriously difficult to get rid of. Part of the reason for this is its shell, which is part of its exoskeleton. This protects its internal organs, but since it is so small, it is very robust. It feeds on blood and can be a vector for various diseases such as Lyme disease. Checking an animal's coat after it has been outdoors can help make ticks easier to spot.

If you want to read similar articles to Animals with Shells - Examples with Pictures, we recommend you visit our Facts about the animal kingdom category.