A green sea turtle is improving after being found stranded on a North Carolina beach with over 1 ½ pounds of barnacles and other organisms on its shell, seashore officials announced over the weekend.

Turtle shells evolved over the course of 300 million years, but self-defense wasn't the initial driver, researchers think.

When we picture sea turtles in the wild, it’s easy to envision them as armored warriors – their hard, resilient shells serving as near-impenetrable shields against oceanic threats like sharks. These ...