If you ’ve ever combed the beach to find things to adorn a sandcastle , chances are you ’ve believably add up across a Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin dollar . While most people could be forgive for thinking it ’s just another pretty shell , the realness is quite dissimilar .
What are sand dollars?
backbone dollars are actually living organisms , ocean urchinsthat go to the order Clypeasteroida . They are also in the phylum Echinodermata , meaning they are distantly related to other cool sea wight likestarfishandsea cucumbers . Their skeletons are not shells but are in fact " tests " since they are covered in skin . They often wash up on the beach , and it ’s important to know if you ’re handling a living organism or a skeleton .
Known for their five - point radial symmetry , the exoskeleton of a bushed sand dollar mark is usually white with a distinctive shape that resembles the petals of a prime . However live sand dollars can be gray or purple and are covered in lots of densely packed tiny spines . If you terminate up take hold one , you’re able to even find the spines and hairsmoving .
Found on the ocean floor in the Northern Hemisphere , these creature expend their spines and tiny hairs called cilia to move intellectual nourishment particles into their oral cavity on the undersurface of their bodies . Their mouths are sometimes referred to asAristotle ’s Lanternand take five abrupt teeth - like structures . Their spines can also aid them move around the sea floor to stay veil from predators such as seedcase , Melanogrammus aeglefinus , eel , and even octopuses .
A living sand dollar. Image credit: WeStaySocial/Shutterstock
Living sand dollars are often notice together on the seafloor , where they can tunnel into the grit and be in close proximity for replication by spawning , where gametes are released into the H2O column .
What to do if you find a live sand dollar?
If you retrieve a live grit buck on the beach , the good affair to do is spot it gently back into the sea as it will not survive out of the water for very long . Some sand dollars can bring about a yellow substance known as echinochrome , which is harmless to multitude but may allow for your hands yellowed if you lift a live George Sand one dollar bill .
If you get hold the bony skeleton it might make a dainty summation to your sandcastle . While murder a living sand dollar from the beach is against the law of nature in some US states . backbone buck tests are sources of calcium carbonate and it is best to leave it on the beach after you ’re done building .
