Sand Dollar Anatomy

These flat bottom hugging creatures are closely related to sea cucumbers and starfish. Sand dollar they have a rigid skeleton made of calcium carbonate plates and this skeleton is covered by small velvet textured spikes that give them the smooth feel.

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The test consists of calcium carbonate plates arranged in a fivefold radial pattern.

Sand dollar anatomy. Sand dollar anatomy sand dollars are echinoderms as are starfish and sea urchins. Sand dollars are scientifically classified in the order clypeasteroida and there are many varieties and species in that classification. In living individuals the test is covered by a skin of velvet textured spines.

The mouth of the sand dollar is located on the bottom of its body at the center of the petal like pattern. The petal like pattern in sand dollars consists of five paired rows of pores. The bottom surface contains the mouth many black spines which trap food and the cilia small hairs that help direct food into the mouth.

The internal anatomy of a common sand dollar is made of rigid calcium carbonate skeleton called a test which is typical of all clypeasteroida members. Sand dollars are actually the skeletons of a particular type of sea urchin. These invertebrates have a hard skin made of calcium carbonate plates.

Strongly depressed clypeasteroids are known as sand dollars because some of them have a flattened disklike shape that resembles a silver dollar fig 28 42. We are working on a sand dollar diagram which will be available shortly. Sand dollars have tiny tube feet that are used as gills.

Anatomy sand dollars like all members of the order clypeasteroida possess a rigid skeleton known as a test. Their main habitat is in the waters in the caribbean. These spines are in turn covered with very small hairs cilia.

The pores are perforations in the endoskeleton through which podia for gas exchange project from the body. The bodies of adult sand dollars like those of other echinoids display radial symmetry. Like other members of this group sand dollars have 5 fold symmetry.

Like other irregular urchins most are infaunal deposit feeders with numerous short spines that are used to burrow through soft sediments. When most people think of sea urchins they think of scary spiny creatures that live on the bottom of the sea floor but sea urchins come in many shapes and sizes. You can easily see this in their 5 rows of pores shaped like petals in the top of their body.

Sand dollars have 5 part radial symmetry.

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