Why do turtles have shells?

Why do turtles have shells? A question I have always wondered ever since I got my turtle 11 years ago. Turtles are very interesting cool creatures. There are so many different one such as sea turtles, snapping turtles, red eared slider, eastern painted, etc. All these turtles have shells, but what makes them different. All turtles have different shapes, sizes,tectures, color to there shells. The size depends on how big you turtle is. The other things such as texture might depend on where your turtle lives and what kind it is. Also there are different types of shells, between sea turtles and and freshwater turtles. They also have different purposes to them. Sea turtles shells are there back are a leather typed shell that’s how they got there name(ex: Leatherback sea turtles). The sea turtles shells purpose is to help it go deeper in the water . Thesea turtles type of shell is a softer type. As for freshwater turtle there shells surve a different purpose. They have a harder shell and tend to shed more. There shells are mainly used for protection from predators . If you have ever seen a turtle when it gets scared it goes in its shell, that’s cause that is it’s protection. In conclusion, because a turtle’s shell is attached to its ribs and spine, a turtle can never “take off” or “leave” its shell. But with all the benefits of having it, it’s hard to think that a turtle would ever even want to leave its special, protective shell! If you were a turtle would you like to have a shell on your back?