ABOUT THE SAND DOLLAR
ABOUT THE SAND DOLLAR
This is the skeleton of a sand dollar. The sand dollar is an ocean animal related to the star fish and sea urchin. Look at the top surface and find the holes that form the star shape. Tube feet stuck out from these holes and were used for breathing and eating.
At the back of the shell is the mouth area where the sand dollar took in small particles of sea plants and sea animals. The five jaws found inside (the doves) crushed the food. Small purplish spines once covered the body and helped it wiggle through the sand water.
The sand dollar lives slightly buried in the sand in shal coastal waters. It's thin, circular body is about 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters)wide. It's dried skeleton looks like a large, white coin while a living sand dollar resembles a fuzzy brown cookie. The animal eats tiny aquatic organisms that it finds among the sand grains or traps from the surrounding waters. They live in large numbers in many parts of the world and are frequently tossed ashore after storms.
A sand dollar releases eggs from small openings near the center of the top of the body. The eggs develop into free-swimming larvae which eventually sink to the ocean floor and grow into the adult form.
