Who knew you had so much in common with our reptilian neighbors. These are made of keratin, just like your hair and nails. The carapace is covered by an outer layer of individual pieces called scoots. The shell is made of two pieces, the carapace (top) and the plastron (bottom), which are fused together on each side at what’s called a bridge. Did you know that a turtle’s shell is a made of bone and is a part of the turtle’s spine? A turtle’s shell is as much a part of its body as our skeleton is to ours. A common myth regarding turtles is that they can leave their shell for another.
