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A shell is the hard, rigid outer covering, or integument, of certain animals. More specific scientific names include exoskeleton, carapace, and peltidium. A shell may be made of nacre (a combination of calcium and protein), chitin, bone and cartilage, or silica. The shell will grow over time as the animal inside adds its building material to the leading edge near the opening. This causes the shell to become longer and wider to better accommodate the growing animal inside. The majority of shells are made of nacre, an organic mixture of outer layers of horny conchiolin (a scleroprotein), followed by an intermediate layer of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) as either calcite or aragonite in the form of platy crystals.
