Sand dollars - the weirdest echinoderms? #marinebiology #sanddollar #octopus #marinelife #ocean #fyp

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]The other day I found a bunch of [music] these sand dollar shells on the beach, including some of the smallest ones I've ever seen.

[00:00:07]The shells are from dead sand dollars, but I knew there were probably some live ones nearby, so I started looking.

[00:00:13]>> [music] >> They like to partially burrow themselves in the sand, and after looking for a while I started to find them.

[00:00:19]You can usually see a bit of their [music] dark color sticking out of the sediment.

[00:00:23]When you pick them up, you can clearly see all of their tiny spines moving around. They almost look like sparkles.

[00:00:29]Sand dollars [music] are echinoderms and are related to sea stars, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers.

[00:00:35]They like to hang out [music] with other sand dollars in what are called sand dollar beds.

[00:00:39]By keeping part of their body out of [music] the sand, they can use their spines to collect food.

[00:00:44]If you come across one that has [music] spines or is dark in color, make sure you leave it in place because it's probably alive.

[00:00:50]>> [music] >> The dead ones you can clearly see where their mouth and anus used to be, and they're also usually pale because of [music] sun bleaching. Pretty neat.