A sea turtle’s shell is living bone fused directly to its spine and ribs. It is not a detachable shield or an external case, as certain quirky cartoons have shown. The shell grows with the turtle, ...

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The broad-shelled river turtle (Chelodina expansa) falls into a group known as side-neck turtles.

When we picture sea turtles in the wild, it’s easy to envision them as armored warriors – their hard, resilient shells serving as near-impenetrable shields against oceanic threats like sharks. These ...

A green sea turtle is improving after being found stranded on a North Carolina beach with over 1 ½ pounds of barnacles and other organisms on its shell, seashore officials announced over the weekend.

Sea turtles can survive being struck by a boat propeller — but as they heal from the trauma, their shells often change shape, bulging from air building up within their bodies. That throws the animals' ...

It's a long-held idea that turtles can tuck their heads into their shells when threatened. But is it true? And is this protective trick why turtles the world over have shells today? The answer is that ...