Title
Keyhole Sand Dollar (Mellita spp.)
FMM2011.20.296
Subject
echinoderms
Description
White, round, mostly flat but slightly domed. 5-petal flower design. 5 narrow holes. 2 holes on bottom.
Sand dollars are the dried skeletons (called “tests”) of flat, burrowing sea urchins. This specimen is of the genus Mellita and is named for its keyhole-shaped perforation. The underside of the urchin’s body contains a small mouth hole which is called “Aristotle’s Lantern”. In his book, Historia Animalium (The History of Animals), Aristotle likened the mouth parts of a sea urchin to the shape of a horn lantern. The arrangement of the urchin’s five teeth resembled the five-sided lantern. Scientists who studied these creatures in later centuries adopted the term “Aristotle’s Lantern” instead.
Sand dollars are the dried skeletons (called “tests”) of flat, burrowing sea urchins. This specimen is of the genus Mellita and is named for its keyhole-shaped perforation. The underside of the urchin’s body contains a small mouth hole which is called “Aristotle’s Lantern”. In his book, Historia Animalium (The History of Animals), Aristotle likened the mouth parts of a sea urchin to the shape of a horn lantern. The arrangement of the urchin’s five teeth resembled the five-sided lantern. Scientists who studied these creatures in later centuries adopted the term “Aristotle’s Lantern” instead.
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