Do they find the shells lying around and climb inside them? Do the shells form from sand around their glob bodies over the course of a hundred years?
In: Biology
Here’s how mollusks grow their shells from Scientific American. “The exoskeletons of snails and clams, or their shells in common parlance, differ from the endoskeletons of turtles in several ways. Seashells are the exoskeletons of mollusks such as snails, clams, oysters and many others. Such shells have three distinct layers and are composed mostly of calcium carbonate with only a small quantity of protein–no more than 2 percent. These shells, unlike typical animal structures, are not made up of cells. Mantle tissue that is located under and in contact with the shell secretes proteins and mineral extracellularly to form the shell. Think of laying down steel (protein) and pouring concrete (mineral) over it. Thus, seashells grow from the bottom up, or by adding material at the margins. Since their exoskeleton is not shed, molluscan shells must enlarge to accommodate body growth. This pattern of growth results in three distinct shell layers: an outer proteinaceous periosteum (uncalcified), a prismatic layer (calcified) and an inner pearly layer of nacre (calcified).”
The shape of the shell has to do with the fact that scallops are free swimming unlike their oyster relatives. They swim by clapping their shell together. If the shell was not symmetrical the scallop would swim in circles. Not good for getting anywhere.
Also they are more than just muscle blobs. They can even have 200 eyes over their mantle. They are pretty complex.
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