Finding that perfect Sand Dollar

Finding that first perfect Sand Dollar is so exciting . This is a five -holed keyhole sand dollar , they have five slanted holes . You can find the sand dollars in Sandy shallows and seagrass .Many of them just off the beach can be seen escaping low tide . If found alive they will have a feltlike coating of fine brown movable spins that feel a little rough to the human touch. These are tiny tube feet that gather their particulate food and carry it below to their mouth . The gathered bits are crunched by a chewing apparatus made of five bird-shaped elements. The notches and holes in a sand dollar provide shortcuts for food bits traveling to the mouth from the animals topside.The holes also allow these disklike animals to sink into the sand. The conspicuous petals on the upper surface of a sand dollar are traced by dual lines of pores for the tube feet , which the animal uses only for breathing .
If you see a brown sand dollar please just leave it alone … more than likely he’s alive . If you love the sand dollars stay focused on the beautiful white ones they are most definitely looking for new homes