The Eccentric Sand Dollar (Dendraster excentricus) is a cousin of sea urchins and sea cucumbers. It uses tiny spines to scoot along or burrow into the sand. The photo shows its exoskeleton β the smooth, patterned βshellβ you might find washed up on the beach.
#SandDollar #Echinoids #OceanLife #Nature #Wildlife #CaliforniaCoast
Fossil spines reveal #DeepSea's past https://phys.org/news/2023-09-fossil-spines-reveal-deep-sea.html
A 104-Ma record of deep-sea irregular #echinoids β a story of persistence, food availability and a big bang https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0288046
"ecosystems of the deep sea have emerged again and again after multiple #MassExtinctions... But there is increasing evidence that parts are much older. A team has now provided the first #fossil evidence for a stable colonization of the deep sea floor by #invertebrates for at least 104 million years."
Right at the bottom of the deep sea, the first very simple forms of life on Earth probably emerged a long time ago. Today, the deep sea is known for its bizarre fauna. Intensive research is being conducted into how the number of species living on the sea floor have changed in the meantime.
Gina
Lukas VFN πͺπΊ