Description
These are Polished Fossil Sand Dollars. They have lived in the seas since the Late Ordovician. But the remains and traces of these animals were buried in sediment that later hardened into rock. These Echinoderms, Fossil Sea Urchins are similar to those found today.
These are Echinoderms with a hard external shell. They are also often called “Sea Biscuits”
Fossils especially these Polished Fossil Sand Dollars are preserved in Spectacular detail. Because of the wide variety and number of these animals it is also assumed they lived in dense communities,
This Fossil is actually an animal related to modern day starfish so they are echinoderms. They have modern relatives called crinoids that live in the oceans today. They lived in shallow salt water seas and lagoons.
Although there were many species of Echinoderms these Sand Dollars had a variety of shapes; they can be globular or flattened, rounded or heart-shaped. But the most important function of the shell was to support and protect the soft body inside. The spines were held in place by soft tissue covering the test during life, but usually became detached and fossilized separately. Occasionally, when fossilization was rapid, the spines are found preserved together.
The Fossil Sand Dollars thrived in the warm shallow inland sea. Because they lived near near an ocean delta system that periodically buried the colonies in silt. This silt eventually hardened into stone that preserved the Sand Dollars in glorious detail.
We will choose the biggest and best one to send to you, they average 2 inches across.
