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, ...

Scuba Diving Snorkeling at Great Barrier Reef Cairns Port Douglas (Sea Turtle, Giant Clam, Hard Cora, Shark, School of Fish, Soft Coral, Great Visibility, Pufferfish)© Kitjapat Film/Shutterstock.com ...

Sometimes animated turtles seem to live inside their shells like it’s a tiny home. They may even hop out of the shell and run around. That’s funny in cartoons and games, but my friend Ryan Wagner told ...

In cartoons, when a turtle is spooked, it retreats into and closes up its shell. While used for comic effect, this imagery is based in fact — although not all turtles are capable of this protective ...