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Concept
Turtle shell
Summary
The turtle shell is a shield for the ventral and dorsal parts of turtles (the order Testudines), completely enclosing all the vital organs of the turtle and in some cases even the head. It is constructed of modified bony elements such as the ribs, parts of the pelvis and other bones found in most reptiles. The bone of the shell consists of both skeletal and dermal bone, showing that the complete enclosure of the shell likely evolved by including dermal armor into the rib cage.
The turtle's shell is an important study, not just because of the apparent protection it provides for the animal but also as an identification tool, in particular with fossils, as the shell is one of the likely parts of a turtle to survive fossilization. Hence understanding the shell structure in living species provides comparable material with fossils.
The shell of the hawksbill turtle, among other species, has been used as a material for a wide range of small decorative and practical items since antiquity, but is normally referred to as tortoiseshell.
The turtle shell is made up of numerous bony elements, generally named after similar bones in other vertebrates, and a series of keratinous scutes which are also uniquely named. Some of those bones that make the top of the shell, carapace, evolved from the scapula rami of the clavicles along with the dorsal and superficial migration of the cleithra. The ventral surface is called the plastron. These are joined by an area called the bridge. The actual suture between the bridge and the plastron is called the anterior bridge strut. In Pleurodires the posterior pelvis is also part of the carapace, fully fused with it. This is not the case in Cryptodires which have a floating pelvis. The anterior bridge strut and posterior bridge strut are part of the plastron. On the carapace are the sutures into which they insert, known as the Bridge carapace suture.
In the shell there is a turtle's epidermis layer. This layer is important to the strength of the shell surrounding it.
Official source
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