Eccentric Sand Dollar

dendraster excentricus

The Eccentric Sand Dollar has a unique star-shaped pattern on its shell that looks like a beautiful design! Kids love to find these treasures on the beach and learn about the ocean's secrets!

Hábitat: Sandy ocean floors along the Pacific Coast

Aspecto

The Eccentric Sand Dollar is a flattened, disc-shaped echinoderm, typically grey to purple-brown. Its distinctive five-petal flower pattern is located off-center, making it visually unique among other sand dollar species.

ReinoAnimaliaFiloEchinodermataClaseEchinoideaOrdenEchinolampadaceaFamiliaDendrasteridaeGéneroDendraster

Eccentric Sand Dollar

Categoría

Invertebrate

Rareza

Common

Peligro

0/5 · Sin peligro conocido

Snaps

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Datos interesantes

A sand dollar's hard skeleton is called a 'test' – like a tiny suit of armor!

Sometimes, their 'flower' pattern looks like a dove when held to the light!

They can gather up to 60,000 tiny grains of sand to help them stay anchored!

They use microscopic hairs called cilia to move collected food towards their mouth!

Habilidades especiales

Eccentric Sand Dollar can quickly burrow into the sand using its short spines and tube feet, which helps them hide from predators.

Eccentric Sand Dollar has tiny hairs called cilia on its spines that help them collect small food particles from the water column.

Eccentric Sand Dollar can use its spines and tube feet to flip itself over quickly if it gets overturned by ocean currents.

Medidas y detalles

Average Diameter: 7.5 cm
Esperanza de vida: 10 años
Average Thickness: 1 cm

Dieta y alimentación

These marine invertebrates filter tiny bits of food from the water and sand to eat.

Diferencias por edad: null

Alimentos principales

diatoms
algae
detritus
larval invertebrates

Método de búsqueda

Filter Feeding

Conexiones ecológicas

eaten by

Sunflower Sea Star

Pycnopodia helianthoides

A major predator of adult sand dollars in the Pacific Ocean.

eaten by

Dungeness Crab

Cancer magister

Crabs can crush their hard 'tests' to consume the soft tissue inside.

eaten by

Northern Anchovy

Engraulis mordax

Larval sand dollars are a common food source for small plankton-eating fish.

Rasgos

Solitario

Los animales solitarios viven solos durante la mayor parte de su vida y solo interactúan con otros para aparearse o cuidar de sus crías.

Colorido

Colorido describe a organismos u objetos que exhiben una amplia variedad de colores brillantes y distintivos.

Filtrador

Los filtradores obtienen nutrientes filtrando partículas de alimentos suspendidos y pequeños organismos del agua.

Costero

Los hábitats costeros son entornos dinámicos situados a lo largo de la interfaz entre la tierra y el mar, influenciados por las mareas, las olas y el agua salada.