Seashell

Seashells washed up on the beach in Valencia, Spain; nearly all are single valves of bivalve mollusks, mostly of Mactra corallina
Hand-picked molluscan seashells (bivalves and gastropods) from the beach at Clacton on Sea in England
A group of seashells, mostly bivalves in the family Pholadidae
Mixed shells on a beach in Venezuela
Hermit crabs inhabiting marine gastropod shells that lived in the Persian Gulf
A group of beachworn sea snail shells that vary in size, form and pattern combination.

A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer usually created by an animal or organism that lives in the sea. Most seashells are made by mollusks, such as snails, clams, and oysters to protect their soft insides.[1] Empty seashells are often found washed up on beaches by beachcombers. The shells are empty because the animal has died and the soft parts have decomposed or been eaten by another organism.

A seashell is usually the exoskeleton of an invertebrate (an animal without a backbone), and is typically composed of calcium carbonate[1] or chitin. Most shells that are found on beaches are the shells of marine mollusks, partly because these shells are usually made of calcium carbonate, and endure better than shells made of chitin.

Apart from mollusk shells, other shells that can be found on beaches are those of barnacles, horseshoe crabs and brachiopods. Marine annelid worms in the family Serpulidae create shells which are tubes made of calcium carbonate cemented onto other surfaces. The shells of sea urchins are called "tests", and the moulted shells of crabs and lobsters are exuviae. While most seashells are external, some cephalopods have internal shells.

Seashells have been used by humans for many different purposes throughout history and prehistory. However, seashells are not the only kind of shells; in various habitats, there are shells from freshwater animals such as freshwater mussels and freshwater snails, and shells of land snails.

  1. ^ a b "How are seashells made?". Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Archived from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2024.