The sand dollar: this beautiful, little invertebrate hides a few secrets inside it’s shell! Read on to find out it’s hidden treasures and where to find one or two of your own!

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What is a Sand Dollar?

A sand dollar is a marine invertebrate (an animal without a backbone). A flat, burrowing sea creature of the “echinoids” (or spiny-skinned creatures) class. They live on the ocean floor in most of the Northern Hemisphere. Sand dollars are related to star fish and sea urchins.

Although they have the whole ocean at their disposal, sand dollars tend to live closely, in packs. This makes mating easier, as they reproduce through group (or broadcast) spawning. Group spawning allows males to release sperm and females to release eggs into the water at the same time. Large packs; therefore, release larger amounts in a concentrated area increasing the chances of successful reproduction.

According to sanddollarshelling.com a sand dollar’s jaw is made up of 5 teeth-like sections and is located inside it’s exoskeleton along with a variety of skeletal elements, a nerve ring, reproductive organs and muscles. There is a lot going on inside such a little shell.

Sand Dollar Markings

A live sand dollar, in the water, looks a bit different than the white, sun-bleached, porcelain-like skeletons you find on the beach. They are usually reddish-brown or deep purple in colour and are hairy – covered with tiny bristles or flexible spines.

The beautiful star-shaped design on the top of a sand dollar is more than just for show – the design is actually a series of very small holes or pores that the creature uses to process water and gas. The holes allow water and gases to pass through and/ or be released from the sand dollar allowing it to stay on the bottom of the ocean instead of getting swept up in the waves and surf. Read more about this amazing animal on the Natural History Museum website.

According to The Monterey Bay Aquarium: the creature may, in still water, stand upright with one end buried in the sand. When the surf gets rough they burrow under the sand or lay flat to stay grounded. The pores on the bottom of their exoskeleton, which are used to extract food from the water, can also help take in sand to make them heavier in really rough seas.

These invertebrates breathe through their petaloids (a series of holes) on their exoskeleton – small tube-like breathing feet emerge from the holes and allow the urchin to extract the air they need to breathe from the surrounding water.

What and How do they Eat?

Sand dollars eat small crustacean (crab, lobster, barnacle) larvae, diatoms and microscopic algae and small copepods (small crustaceans the size of a speck of dust that feed on phytoplankton and feed small fish and sand dollars – learn more on the Monterey Bay Aquarium site).

They use their flexible, bristled spines to move food through the sand to their mouth – located in the center of their under side.

Inside the mouth are 5, tiny teeth-like sections they use to grind their food. Depending on what they are eating, they may grind for up to fifteen minutes before swallowing and the food can take up to two days to fully digest.

Where to Find Sand Dollars in Nova Scotia

Sand Dollar skeletons (also known as “tests”) can be found on beaches throughout Nova Scotia. Some areas of the province, and some beaches, are better for sand dollar hunting; however!

In all my years of beach-combing on Nova Scotia’s North Shore, I have found only one sand dollar skeleton and know of only a few others who were lucky enough to find one or two in this area.

To find them it is best to go to the beach at low tide or as the tide is going out and walk the beach along the high tide line. Like sea glass they will be lying on the sand or among the lines of seaweed and pebbles.

If you are hoping to see some live or collect some sand dollar skeletons in Nova Scotia, you can greatly increase your chances by visiting Carter’s Beach in Queen’s County or Sand Dollar Beach in Lunenburg County. Just remember, taking live sand dollars off the beach is prohibited in Nova Scotia. Check out how to tell if a sand dollar is still alive below and if you are unsure, leave it on the sand – or better yet – put it back in the water.

Is it Alive?

As stated above removing live sand dollars is not allowed in Nova Scotia. Use the points below to check to see if any sand dollars you have found are alive or; in fact, just skeletons. If you are not sure, leave it there!

• Check the colour – white: skeleton, Brown, red or purple: alive!
• If it still has spines showing it may still be alive – when the spines are moving, it definitely is.
• If it has spines but they are not moving, it may still be alive. You can pick it up but be careful of the spines, they can scratch and the scratches can get infected quite easily. Once you have safely picked it up, lay it in your open palm – if it leaves behind a yellow stain it has released a substance called, “echinochrome” and is still alive.
• A white-ish sand dollar on a dry or semi-dry part of the beach is most likely no longer living and just a “test” (skeleton).

Collecting and Cleaning Sand Dollars

Clean sand dollar skeletons by soaking them in fresh water, rinsing and changing it often until the water remains clear.

To make them bright white soak them in a solution of 3 parts water to one part bleach.

Preserve them by painting with a solution of white glue and water (in equal amounts) or cover in modge podge.

Fun Sand Dollar Facts

• Sand Dollars have very few predators as they have very hard exoskeletons (shells) and very few edible parts.
• You can tell the age of a sand dollar by it’s growth rings – kind of like a tree. Click here to read an article from the University of Florida on how to determine a sand dollars age
• Sand Dollars live 6-10 years
• There are many different varieties of sand dollars.
• Sand Dollars can only survive out of the water for minutes.
• Once a sand dollar dies, it’s internal parts dry out leaving only its exoskeleton shell and the five jaw pieces of it’s eating apparatus. (Check out the myths and legends section below to see how and why to release these internal parts!)
• Sand Dollars are also known by many other names: sand cakes, pansy shells and sea cookies, to name a few.

Myths, Legends and Folklore

• The Legend of the Sand Dollar: Using Christian Symbolism, Chris Aver wrote the poem “The Legend of the Sand Dollar”, relating the holes and shapes on the sand dollar to wounds on Christ and the star of Bethlehem.
• Purchase a copy of the children’s book based on the poem on Amazon by clicking the image below.

• Find a printable copy of Chris Auer’s poem on the Courageous Christian Father website:

In Auer’s poem, he suggests breaking open your sand dollar to release five white doves to “spread goodwill and peace” and as we learned above, the five jaw pieces dry out and remain inside the sand dollar’s skeleton. So, break open a “test” and you will find the doves!

• Another legend outlined by The CIT Coin Company suggests Sand Dollars are The Currency of Mermaids orCoins form The Lost City of Atlantis!.

Make Your Own Sand Dollar Crafts

Use one of your own beach pictures or cut one from a magazine or calendar and use it as a backdrop for a cute Sand Dollar shadow box, like the one I made below:

Or drill a hole in the top of your sand dollar to make a necklace or bracelet. If you are not crafty or can not find a sand dollar you can purchase sand dollar jewelry and other Sand Dollar items from Amazon!

You can even purchase sand dollar skeletons for all your crafting needs!

Do you know of a great sand dollar collecting beach in Nova Scotia or anywhere else in the world? Tell us about it below in the comments!