GENERAL HISTOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Like other urchins, sand dollars have a mouth centrally located on their ventral or underside. Small structures known as podia line the ‘food grooves’ that radiate from this central location. These move food such as algae, diatoms, and detritus along to their mouths for consumption.

Detailed explanation-2: -Natural history. In its sandy seafloor habitat, a sand dollar uses its spines, aided by tiny hairs (cilia), to ferry food particles along its body to a central mouth on its bottom side. It captures plankton with spines and pincers (pedicellariae) on its body surface.

Detailed explanation-3: -According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, sand dollars (dendraster excentricus) survive on a diet of crustacean larvae, tiny copepods like plankton, diatoms, algae, kelp, and detritus (dead particulate organic material). Sand dollars are omnivorous and occasionally eat larvae of their species.

Detailed explanation-4: -Like the sea urchins, sand dollars also have tiny structures called pedicellariae which look like jaws on stalks. The main function of these is to keep the body of the sand dollar free of debris and parasites. They may also be used to collect tiny food particles.

Detailed explanation-5: -They are native to Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Arctic Ocean. Dead Sand Dollar form shallow marine sediments. They are bioturbators. They are detritivores.