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Our Eccentric Sand Dollar! The top two photos are of the aboral side of this &ldquo;flattened sea urchin&rdquo;. The structure seen in the middle of the dead shell or test on the left is the madreporite or filter for sea water entering the animal. The photo on the top right shows the spines covering the surface. Interspersed between the spines are tube feet used in securing food and locomotion. The photo of the oral surface of the test shows two openings. The more central one is the mouth while the other near the edge is the anus. The food grooves are also evident. The oral surface is covered with longer spines and longer tube feet. When an alive sand dollar is picked up it is quite amazing to see how much movement is going on with both tube feet and spines waving about!<br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/121315/an_aggregate_of_eccentric_sand_dollars.html" title="An Aggregate of Eccentric Sand Dollars."><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/2839/121315_thumb.jpeg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=ZzaR0WibvkNqyZFU2svMdQeihvQ%3D" width="200" height="150" alt="An Aggregate of Eccentric Sand Dollars. When a good feeding place is found sand dollars form groups and can orientate themselves to make use of the currents to better feed themselves. These Eccentric sand dollars are fortunate to find themselves in an area that is still covered at very low tides. Canada,Dendraster excentricus,Eccentric Sand Dollar,Geotagged,Summer" /></a></figure><br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/121316/the_tests_or_shells_of_the_eccentric_sand_dollar.html" title="The Tests or Shells of the Eccentric Sand Dollar."><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/2839/121316_thumb.jpeg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=iQvd5kka4wdQYHiKfqAPVub3Tsw%3D" width="200" height="150" alt="The Tests or Shells of the Eccentric Sand Dollar. Unfortunately this June we experienced what they called a &ldquo;heat dome&rdquo;. Temperatures reached nearly 40&deg;C with no clouds. It also occurred when the lowest tides of the year happened right at noon. These events triggered the loss of much intertidal marine life including the Eccentric sand dollar. Large aggregations were exposed during the low tides and were subsequently killed. Canada,Dendraster excentricus,Eccentric Sand Dollar,Geotagged,Summer" /></a></figure><br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/121317/the_eccentric_sand_dollar_a_habitat_photo.html" title="The Eccentric Sand Dollar, a Habitat Photo."><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/2839/121317_thumb.jpeg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=9XV25W%2BYZsBUFz2OF7Taq0M18nQ%3D" width="114" height="152" alt="The Eccentric Sand Dollar, a Habitat Photo. Manson&rsquo;s Lagoon at one of the lower tides of the year. A great place to explore the intertidal zone. Canada,Dendraster excentricus,Eccentric Sand Dollar,Geotagged,Summer" /></a></figure> Canada,Dendraster excentricus,Eccentric Sand Dollar,Geotagged Click/tap to enlarge PromotedCountry intro

Our Eccentric Sand Dollar!

The top two photos are of the aboral side of this “flattened sea urchin”. The structure seen in the middle of the dead shell or test on the left is the madreporite or filter for sea water entering the animal. The photo on the top right shows the spines covering the surface. Interspersed between the spines are tube feet used in securing food and locomotion. The photo of the oral surface of the test shows two openings. The more central one is the mouth while the other near the edge is the anus. The food grooves are also evident. The oral surface is covered with longer spines and longer tube feet. When an alive sand dollar is picked up it is quite amazing to see how much movement is going on with both tube feet and spines waving about!

An Aggregate of Eccentric Sand Dollars. When a good feeding place is found sand dollars form groups and can orientate themselves to make use of the currents to better feed themselves. These Eccentric sand dollars are fortunate to find themselves in an area that is still covered at very low tides. Canada,Dendraster excentricus,Eccentric Sand Dollar,Geotagged,Summer

The Tests or Shells of the Eccentric Sand Dollar. Unfortunately this June we experienced what they called a “heat dome”. Temperatures reached nearly 40°C with no clouds. It also occurred when the lowest tides of the year happened right at noon. These events triggered the loss of much intertidal marine life including the Eccentric sand dollar. Large aggregations were exposed during the low tides and were subsequently killed. Canada,Dendraster excentricus,Eccentric Sand Dollar,Geotagged,Summer

The Eccentric Sand Dollar, a Habitat Photo. Manson’s Lagoon at one of the lower tides of the year. A great place to explore the intertidal zone. Canada,Dendraster excentricus,Eccentric Sand Dollar,Geotagged,Summer

    comments (5)

  1. View Christine Young's profile
    Christine Young
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    Fantastic documentation, Gary! Posted 3 years ago
    1. View gary fast's profile
      gary fast
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      Thank you Christine. These sand dollars are so common around our west coast it sort of surprised me that there weren’t more photos on Jungle Dragon. I just had to wait for a low enough tide to document them. Posted 3 years ago
      1. View Christine Young's profile
        Christine Young
        Lion
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        Very cool! I never see them on the east coast. Posted 3 years ago
  3. View Ferdy Christant's profile
    Ferdy Christant
    Lion
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    Top post, Gary! Posted 3 years ago
    1. View gary fast's profile
      gary fast
      Lion
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      Thank you Ferdy! Posted 3 years ago

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The Eccentric Sand Dollar

Eccentric sand dollar, also known as the sea-cake, biscuit-urchin, western sand dollar, or Pacific sand dollar, is a member of the order Clypeasteroida, better known as sand dollars, a species of flattened, burrowing sea urchins found in the northeast Pacific Ocean from Alaska to Baja California.

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Similar species: Sand Dollars
Species identified by gary fast
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By gary fast

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Uploaded Sep 6, 2021. Captured in Sutil Point Rd, Mansons Landing, BC V0P 1K0, Canada.
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