Seashell

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For the coaster ship of this name, see MV Seashell. For the color, see Seashell (color).

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Part of a series on

Seashells

Mollusc shells

Cla
m shells

Chit
on shells

Sna
il shells

Tus
k shells

About mollusc shells

Con
chology
Nac
re

Val
ve

Other seashells

Bra
chiopod shells

Cru
stacean shells

Hor
seshoe crabs

Sea
urchin tests

e
Seashells washed up on the beach in Valencia, Spain; nearly all are single valves of bivalve mollusks, mostly
ofMactra corallina

Hand-picked molluscan seashells (bivalves and gastropods) from the beach at Clacton on Sea in England

A group of seashells

Mixed shells on a beach in Venezuela

Seashells living in the Persian Gulf

A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer created by
an animal that lives in the sea. The shell is part of the body of the animal. 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 been eaten by another animal or have rotted out.
The term seashell usually refers to the exoskeleton of an invertebrate (an animal without a
backbone). Most shells that are found on beaches are the shells of marine mollusks, partly because
many of these shells endure better than other seashells.
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 that are cemented onto
other surfaces. The shells of sea urchins are calledtests, and the moulted shells
of crabs and lobsters are called exuviae. While most seashells are external, some cephalopods have
internal shells.
Seashells have been used by humans for many different purposes throughout history and pre-
history. 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.