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Sand Dollars

Living sand dollar have a different look than the white exoskeleton people are familiar with. Densely packed, tiny, dark purple spines cover live sand dollars and hide the star design...In their sandy seafloor habitat, sand dollars use their fuzzy spines, aided by tiny hairs (cilia), to ferry food particles along their bodies to a central mouth on their bottom side. They capture plankton with spines and pincers (pedicellariae) on their body surfaces. Sand dollars use their spines to move along the sand, or to drive edgewise into the sand. On the upper half of the sand dollar's body, spines also serve as gills...In quiet waters, sand dollars stand on end, partially buried in the sand. When waters are rough, sand dollars hold their ground by lying flat or even burrowing under the sand. Adults can also fight the currents by growing heavier skeletons. Young sand dollars weigh themselves down by swallowing heavy sand grains.

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Filename
20070822_077_Monterey.jpg
Copyright
© Mark Eppley
Image Size
3072x2304 / 3.2MB
Contained in galleries
California Beaches and Coast, Animals
Living sand dollar have a different look than the white exoskeleton people are familiar with. Densely packed, tiny, dark purple spines cover live sand dollars and hide the star design...In their sandy seafloor habitat, sand dollars use their fuzzy spines, aided by tiny hairs (cilia), to ferry food particles along their bodies to a central mouth on their bottom side. They capture plankton with spines and pincers (pedicellariae) on their body surfaces. Sand dollars use their spines to move along the sand, or to drive edgewise into the sand. On the upper half of the sand dollar's body, spines also serve as gills...In quiet waters, sand dollars stand on end, partially buried in the sand. When waters are rough, sand dollars hold their ground by lying flat or even burrowing under the sand. Adults can also fight the currents by growing heavier skeletons. Young sand dollars weigh themselves down by swallowing heavy sand grains.