Sand dollars

sand dollar larvae

The Complete Life Cycle Of A Sand Dollar

Sand dollars are one of the unique marine creatures that belong to Echinoderms. They look completely different when alive or dead so have you ever wondered what their complete life cycle looks like? What about when they’re just larvae? And how do they reproduce? In this article I’ll answer all these questions but let’s begin…

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Can Sand Dollars Hurt You? (Are They Poisonous?)

Have you ever looked at the sand dollar and wondered if you can pick it up without being harmed? If you know their close relatives – sea urchins, you may think twice before touching them. You may notice a few things that can be possibly harmful like their spines or even their teeth on the…

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Why Are Sand Dollars Called Sand Dollars? (Explained)

Sand dollars are species of flat, burrowing echinoids that belong to the order Clypeasteroida. They are related to sea urchins, sea stars, or sea cucumbers. When I found one myself for the first time, I thought they were just beautiful shells on the beach.  As I found out later, they’re actually living creatures, called sand…

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Where Are Sand Dollars Found? (Explained)

Sand dollars are incredibly interesting creatures and it always makes me smile when people don’t know they are living animals. I’m always happy to explain everything about them, especially that they actually live in the ocean when alive and that they’re not only the white skeleton most people find on the beach. Then, a lot…

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What’s Inside A Sand Dollar?

There are plenty of places where you can find sand dollars on the beach. When for the first time I found one myself, I wondered what this beautiful shell is. Not a lot of people know that these shells were actually living marine animals that belong to the phylum Echinodermata and are very close relatives…

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sand dollar moving on the sand

How Do Sand Dollars Move?

Sand dollars’ movement, like other Echinoderms, is always an interesting topic because, at first glance, they don’t have obvious limbs to do that. I remember when I was wondering myself, how they move forward, how they stay on the bottom during strong currents, or how they bury themselves in the sand. In this post, we’ll…

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What Do Sand Dollars Eat

Sand dollars are fascinating living marine creatures that a lot of people don’t even know about. Sometimes we think they are just pretty white shells with a flower shape on them. I found one myself a few years ago and I was amazed when my scuba diving instructor told me that they are actually living…

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How Is A Sand Dollar Made?

Sand dollars are very interesting, non-harmful marine creatures and are very often found on tropical beaches as beautiful white “shells” with a flower-like pattern on them. I found one myself two years ago on the coast of Panama and just like you wondered how they are made. Apparently, they look nothing like this before they…

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sand dollars on the beach

Are Sand Dollars Alive?

Sand dollars are one of the most interesting living marine creatures. I first found one myself two years ago on the coast of Panama and I thought they were just little shells with a flower on them. Apparently, they were much more than that. Just like you, I wondered whether sand dollars were dead or…

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