Talk:Animal shell

seashell growth orientation?
Classicturtle 19:22, 4 August 2007 (UTC) I have noticed that most gastropods have a "left handed" orientation. In other words, the shell opening is on the left side of the animal and as the shell gows it curls on the right side. This includes all spices I've seen. I have a small collection of shells, about 50, which range in size form 1/4 inch to about 8 inches in length. There is only 1 shell where the opening would have been on the right side of the animal if were still in it.

Can anyone tell me if the "left handed" orientation is a normal thing? And, why does this occur? I'm sure it can't be random.

==== Most of shells grow right sided watching them with the appex upside, only few are sinistrum. Also there are some species that naturally grows left handed. ====

How are they made? If covered in another article, say so. - Omegatron 15:28, May 28, 2004 (UTC)

Calcium Cumbonate? I'm no scientist, but shouldn't it be calcium carbonate?

sea shell scarring
Could someone please direct me to where I can find how some seashells are scarred (holes, lines across the shell, etc). I gathered imperfect shells to illustrate their hard life in the sea and want to have the answers for my students. Do anenomes make different marks than starfish? On the east coast--what wants to eat those little mollusks?

Thank you.



New picture
Could we add this in too? I know it has soap in it, but that is not anything we can help. Later!!! Chili14 (Talk) 22:55, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

i also
I would also like to know how shells are made. I am doing a science project on them, and i would like some information. I think they are made when the creature is first born, and they gradually harden in the case of animals like crabs, but i am not sure about the kind of shell you find on the beach. I would welcome more information.Factoids123 00:09, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

Where are shells found?
''' == Where can we find shells in our everyday lives.

Lots of my peers at work are desperate to know, besides the shell shops. ==' —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Special:Contributions/ (talk)

Merger: Multiple articles cover the same ground
At the moment we have articles on exoskeleton, animal shell, and seashell. These articles seem to focus on different things - but their definitions are very loose. Are diatom tests really "sea shells"?

We'd be a lot better off if we had just one main article over at "exoskeleton" (since all shells are exoskeletons, and by the sounds of animal shell, all exoskeletons are shells); I think that most of the existing content may be better off in pages with a well defined name, such as "arthropod exoskeleton" or "mollusc shell".

Given the current confusion in some of the articles, I'm going to get on and do this, as I'm wanting to tap out a quick overview of shell mineralogy and as it stands will have to replicate it in three places!

Martin  (Smith609 – Talk)  08:11, 16 July 2008 (UTC)