Thousands of ‘sand dollars’ wash up on a beach in US, pics surface

Thousands of sand dollars washed up on a beach in the United States on August 15, perplexing sea experts. Sand dollars are not currency notes made from sand. These flat sea urchins are also known as sea cookies and snapper biscuits.

The aforementioned names are derived from the interesting shapes and sizes of these creatures. They are tiny marine invertebrates belonging to the phylum Echinodermata, having a hard skeleton known as test. They range in size from three to four inches in length. Their bodies feature unique patterns that resemble beautifully carved leaves. They are found in warm seas around the coasts of Central and South America but have also been seen off the coast of the United States.

Experts were perplexed when they appeared in great numbers in the southeast and at Seaside Beach in Seaside, Oregon. The creatures were said to have washed up on the beach following the afternoon high tide. Sea dollars, however, cannot survive outside of the ocean for more than a few minutes. They soon dry out if they don’t have access to water.

The Seaside Aquarium, one of the West Coast’s oldest aquariums, posted images of the creatures on their Facebook page. They’re not clear how the urchins arrived out on the shore, though.

‘Thousands of live sand dollars are washing ashore on the south end of Seaside Beach.  It appears that they are washing in during the afternoon high tides and getting stranded along the high tide line.  They are still alive when stranded but are unable to make it back to the water once the tide recedes,’ Seaside Aquarium wrote on Facebook.

Also Read: BJP flag painted on horse at Jan Ashirwad Yatra, Maneka Gandhi’s NGO files complaint

It adds: ‘At this time, we do not know what has caused this, and these types of incidents usually have several contributing factors. We are also unaware if this is an isolated incident or if this is happening on other beaches. It is hard to convey how many sand dollars on washing in. The best indication would be if the sand dollar is still ‘fuzzy’. You may want to leave the fuzzy ones on the beach, as they can smell quite badly if taken home.’