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Keyhole Sand Dollar
Mellita tenuis · Size: About 3 to 4 inches across
Not a snail shell at all: a sand dollar is the hard skeleton, called a test, of a flattened sea urchin relative. The keyhole sand dollar is the one you can find on the Sarasota-area Gulf beaches, and Sand Dollar Island at Big Pass near Siesta Key is named for them.
How to identify it
Flat and round with a five-petal flower pattern etched on top and a keyhole-shaped slot near the rear edge. Clean white and dry means it is an empty skeleton.
Where to look near Sarasota
Look in the shallows and at the water line on calm days, and on the sandbar near Big Pass.
More shells to look for
Finding keyhole sand dollars with a guide
Sand dollars are a favorite on our Siesta Key tours, which launch near Big Pass. Guides show you the difference between a live, fuzzy sand dollar and the white empty test you can keep.
Fun Florida Tours runs a guided night shelling and snorkeling tour in shallow Gulf water at Siesta Key, Sarasota and Anna Maria Island. You wade in from shore with a guide, the group shares one bright LED light pod that lights up the bottom, and the water stays under 4 feet deep, so you do not need to be a strong swimmer. After 60 minutes in the water we spend 15 minutes on the sand for show-and-tell, where guides name everything the group found. Empty shells are yours to keep; anything alive goes back.