Six Holed Keyhole Urchin Sand Dollar Burial

[mh605]

So cool! I've seen dead sand dollars, but never a live one. I didn't know they were a kind of sea urchin. Exciting!

[jghyers]

@mh605 Thank you so much for your comment! It was a great experience for me as well to be able to see it alive.

[Katalist1]

wow very relaxing video =)

[jghyers]

@Katalist1 Thanks for the comment. It was a very relaxing experience to film as well.

[unstopablenavyseal]

nice

[jghyers]

@unstopablenavyseal -- thanks for commenting!

[jghyers]

@HackMasterATB -- Thank you for commenting. Why do you say they fail at evolution?

[jghyers]

@HackMasterATB - Actually only million of years to "evolve" (they first appeared in the Paleocene Epoch)

I have an issue with your logic about their evolution - with your reasoning there should be no other life forms besides us ... the sand dollars fill a niche in their ecosystem -- every life form has a place whether it makes sense to you or I & they don't need to have legs or arms to survive

By the way, snails don't have legs or arms either, but they do have a foot.

[headshooter44]

@HackMasterATB you are such a dumb ass. they have more legs than anything else, living on this planet. they are literarely covered in legs and arms. all these hairs on their surface and side and underside and even inside the breathing holes are legs to dig into the sand. they are a kind of sea star so they have thousands of legs. you are a fail at evolution because of that stupid comment.

[headshooter44]

@HackMasterATB many life forms died out in history but these things still live, so they are not a fail at all because they live and reproduce, wich is the sense of life.

[jghyers]

@headshooter44 -- Thank you for your comments!

[eacob]

the title of this video sounds like a jutsu gaara (from naruto) would use

[jghyers]

@eacob thanks for commenting!

[pinkskinys]

@eacob u watch naruto

[TheBunnyzilla]

OOO THAT WRONG@#@# EWWWWWWWWWWWWW

[jghyers]

@TheBunnyzilla - Thanks for commenting

[simdude2u]

How can it breath under the sand?

[jghyers]

@simdude2u The tiny tubules you see moving on top allow it to breathe in the water and when it buries itself in the ocean it leaves some of its tubules free so that water may pass by them and they breathe.

The problem with burying itself on the beach is that the tide leaves and so does the source of oxygen, hence why so many are found on breaches dead. Guess they get confused about where they are & think that the beach is safe, which it is until the tide leaves.

Thank you for commenting.

[aby0108]

Very Cool!

[jghyers]

@aby0108 Thank you!

[BlackOut55555666666]

Lol, they should make a sand dallor race, by the time it was finished, everyone would already be asleep XD

[jghyers]

@BlackOut55555666666 - Thank you for commenting ... it is a slow process, but fun to watch though.

[BlackOut55555666666]

@jghyers yes, I have a great interest in echinoderms and there kin

[jghyers]

@BlackOut55555666666 - they are great to watch ... have to admit that insects are my fave interests, but echinoderms are great as well ...

[invoke440]

i see a star fish shape did it eat the a star fish? O.O

[jghyers]

@invoke440 Lol - Don't think so but thanks for the comment.

[calpaw]

so amazing to watch

[jghyers]

@calpaw thank you for commenting

[BTR74]

That thing's moving pretty fast for a Sand Dollar. The ones I find usually take forever just to run off my hand

[jghyers]

I suppose it might have moved faster than some others ... didn't really have another with which to compare it ...

Thank you for commenting.

[hayleyisino320]

wow ive never seen a real live one?!?!

ive only picked up the bone remains not a live one

the beach your at looks so pretty :D

[ilovefobx0]

I FOUND YOU HAYLEY hahahah so this is the vid you were talking about.

was that shot with an underwater camera? or is the water just really clear?

[hayleyisino320]

i think she shot it from above it.

cause in a part of the video you see a small wave go over it.

[jghyers]

Yes I shot it from above on the beach.

[jghyers]

I shot it with a Fuji S700 camera by standing over it on the beach. The water that washes on the beach stays pretty clear but like most of the Atlantic Ocean the water can be quite dirty at times.

[jghyers]

Thanks for the comment ... The beaches at Sapelo are protected so they stand a better chance of staying pure.

[sherri7057]

Very interesting. I love finding them while shelling, but I've never seen a living one before..

[jghyers]

Thank you for commenting.

[jcarpenter99]

I enjoyed the video. I'm reading Donald Prothero's book "Evolution" and after a section on sand dollars and sea urchins went looking for videos of them in motion. It was interesting to see the tiny spines waving at the margin of the keyhole opening. Thank you!

[jghyers]

Thank you so much for your kind comment. I am glad that my video was able to show you what you had been reading about in the book. It truly was a pleasure for me to film it.

[gamejestor]

so what is a sand dollar any way, i dont think its a fish... lol or an army of little worms :3

[jghyers]

It is an echinoderm, same as starfish. They are classified as marine animals, but not fish.

Thank you for commenting.

[anriric23]

i moves so slow.but it's kinda cute.

[jghyers]

Yes, it was a slow process. Thank you for your kind comment.

[gamemonkey1]

One time i found one in a hole in the sand and it was colored rainbow, but a guy had crushed it

[jghyers]

Well that is very interesting, I have never seen a rainbow coloured one, but I guess anything is possible. Too bad it was crushed. Thank you for commenting.

[herbs10101]

what are those holes? i've never seen them before on a sand dollar

[jghyers]

They are called lunules, they are used for gathering food. They are characteristic of this species. Thank you for commenting.

[descent900]

lol to be honest i always though these things werent alive. i always thought they formed from like sand or something lol. boy was i wrong and man its weird to see one move.

[jghyers]

Thank you for your comment. It was great to watch it live and right there in front of me ... I was so glad that I could film it for everyone to be able to see.

[julzzmiller]

aren't they such amazing creatures! so mysterious. i've never come across a live specimen yet. is so facinating to watch. thank you

[jghyers]

Thank you for your kind comment.

[shotglass00]

I never seen a live sand dollar before...this is cool.

[jghyers]

Thank you for your comment.

[KenBT214]

God's little roombas.

[jghyers]

Hahha ... thanks for the comments.

[geedezi]

yo fulee...

u ever thought bout the fact that that ugly thing is ur ancestor????ya im sure u didnt....think bout it now for a sec b4 u start hating on nature.

[KenBT214]

Ya we came from that. LOL

[fulee9999]

And the law forbids to have ugly ancestors? :D Btw I'm not hating just finding it very peculiar and creepy. Just imagine one of those things crawl under your skin when you are sunbathing...

[fulee9999]

Yuck, it's like a prehistoric ugly piece of evolution. No legs, no eyes, no nothing, only the strange fur like thingy on it's lower part or whatever.. Oh yes, and the creepy breathing hole on it. With some effects it would make a great horror movie "The Attack Of The Round Shape Breathing Things"

[jghyers]

Thanks for the comment .. that was a great chuckle .. never thought about making it into a horror movie .. but I can see what you mean though ..

[headshooter44]

@fulee9999 it has more legs than you. that fur, you were talking about 3 years ago are actually some kind of legs to move around.

[sketchone]

That baby has all wheel dive!(Yeah I know)

It's cool it knew to do that before the water came.

[jghyers]

Thanks ...

[2113975]

dive! dive! dive! lol its very interesting to watch something like this.

[jghyers]

Thanks ...

[DidntKnowWhatToPut1]

wow that thing is creepy

[jghyers]

Thanks ...thought it would be good for people to see what they look like before they die and are found on the beach ...

[jakeissexy97]

is that realtime?

[jghyers]

Yes ... film is untouched except for removal of audio .. surf sounds were WAY too loud ... shot exactly as I saw it ...