Editing Seashell (section)

=== Molluscan seashells used by other animals ===
Empty molluscan seashells are a sturdy, and usually readily available, "free" resource which is often easily found on beaches, in the [[intertidal zone]], and in the shallow subtidal zone.  As such they are sometimes used [[second-hand]] by animals other than humans for various purposes, including for protection (as in [[hermit crab]]s) and for construction.

==== Mollusks ====
* Carrier shells in the family [[Xenophoridae]] are marine shelled gastropods, fairly large sea snails. Most species of xenophorids cement a series of objects to the rim of their shells as they grow. These objects are sometimes small pebbles or other hard detritus. Very often shells of bivalves or smaller gastropods are used, depending on what is available on the particular [[substrate (biology)|substrate]] where the snail itself lives. It is not clear whether these shell attachments serve as [[camouflage]], or whether they are intended to help prevent the shell sinking into a soft substrate.

[[File:Ocellated octopus.jpg|thumb|left|An ocellated (spotted) octopus using a clamshell as a shelter]]
* Small [[octopus]]es sometimes use an empty shell as a sort of cave to hide in, or hold seashells around themselves as a form of protection like a temporary fortress.

==== Invertebrates ====
[[File:Diogenes pugilator.jpg|thumb|Marine [[hermit crab]] ''[[Diogenes pugilator]]'', using a shell of the dog whelk ''[[Nassarius reticulatus]]'']]
{{biomineralization sidebar|exoskeletons}}

* Almost all genera of [[hermit crab]]s use or "wear" empty marine gastropod shells throughout their lifespan, in order to protect their soft abdomens, and in order to have a strong shell to withdraw into if attacked by a predator. Each individual hermit crab is forced to find another gastropod shell on a regular basis, whenever it grows too large for the one it is currently using.

:Some hermit crab species live on land and may be found quite some distance from the sea, including those in the tropical genus ''[[Coenobita]]''.