Instructions
Look for a round, disk-shaped object on the bottom of the ocean. The sand dollar often lies partially buried under the sand, crowded together with other sand dollars. It is about 3-inches wide.
Observe the color of the objects you find buried in the sand. The sand dollar has dense purple spines running through it, causing the animal to appear mostly purple, with deeper purple lines at the outer edges.
Look on the sand dollar's back. A characteristic flower or star shape is visible, but not as dramatic as when the skeleton is dried and white.
Turn the sand dollar over and examine the under belly. A sand dollar has small tiny, fuzzy hairs (cilia) that it uses to move around on the bottom of the ocean floor. It also has six lines radiating from the center of the animal out to the edges.
How to Identify Live Sand Dollars
Beach goers rarely see live specimens of sand dollars at the shore because the sand dollar lives on the bottom of the ocean. If they are lucky, scuba divers who dive to the bottom of sheltered bays will get a glimpse of the live sand dollar, whose scientific name is Dendraster excentricus. When the scuba diver finds a sand dollar, he may be surprised to learn that it is actually a different color than the hard exoskeleton many stores sell. Sand dollars will occasionally wash up on the sand, so beach combers who keep a watchful eye see them laying near the ocean's edge.