Hello, A colorful life: Most people know sand dollars as the white circular creatures that fill beachside souvenir shelves, but these sea creatures are actually purple, often between a deep purple-hued brown to a purplish-red, when they’re alive. When they die, the sun bleaches that color away, turning them into the white, decorative sand dollars beachcombers know and love. The stunning sea urchin: Sand dollars are flat, burrowing sea urchins that spend their average lifespan of eight to 10 years crawling the ocean floor looking for food particles. Their signature star pattern is actually a series of food grooves that the creature uses to filter sand and water to catch plankton prey. There’s more color where that came from: Live sand dollars may be different hues of purple, but, if touched, they create another color you should be aware of: yellow. Sand dollars produce echinochrome, a harmless substance found across sea urchins that can stain human skin yellow. Pair this with the fact sand dollars can’t survive outside water for more than several minutes, and it’s wise to leave these purple sea urchins alone.

Sent from Jordan's iPhone 11 pro max
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