Sand dollars

kingdom | Animalia (animals)
phylum | Echinodermata (echinoderms)
class | Echinoidea (sea urchins)

Other members of phylum Echinodermata:
Asteroidea (sea stars) | Crinoidea (sea lilies, feather stars...) | Holothuroidea (sea cucumber) | ... | (total: 5)

Species Information:

Diet: Crustacean larvae, small copepods, detritus, diatoms, algae;

Size: To 3 inches across (7.6 cm);

Range: Low intertidal to about 130 feet (40 m) from Alaska to Baja California;

Relatives: Sea urchins, sea stars, sea cucumbers; Phylum: Echinodermata;

Conservation Notes: The sandy seafloor seems to be barren-until you look closer. Diversity is low, but species concentration is high. Sand dollars are usually crowded together over an area-as many as 625 sand dollars can live in one square yard (.85 sq m).

Detritus and microscopic organisms settled on the sand provide food for scavengers and filter feeders-like burrowing anemones. Above the sand, crabs scurry for food. Flatfishes, skates and some sharks hide in the sand.

The sandy seafloor is a valuable resource and needs protection. Bottom trawling causes damage to seafloor habitats and accidentally catches and kills tons of marine life every year. The good news is that some states have enacted laws regulating trawling. Visit the Seafood Watch section on our web site to learn more about trawling and choosing seafood wisely.
Cool Facts The sand dollar's mouth has a jaw with five teethlike sections to grind up tiny plants and animals. Sometimes a sand dollar "chews" its food for fifteen minutes before swallowing. It can take two days for the food to digest.

Scientists can age a sand dollar by counting the growth rings on the plates of the exoskeleton. Sand dollars usually live six to 10 years.

California sheepheads, starry flounders and large pink sea stars prey on sand dollars. When threatened by pink sea stars, sand dollars bury themselves under the sand. Observers have seen a pink sea star leave a wide path of buried sand dollars as it moves across a sand dollar bed.

HILLANDGLEN