Keyhole sand dollar

Keyhole sand dollar
Mellita quinquiesperforata (Costa Rica)
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Echinoidea
Order: Clypeasteroida
Family: Mellitidae
Genus: Mellita
L. Agassiz, 1841
Species
  • Mellita aclinensis Kier, 1963
  • Mellita isometra Harold & Telford, 1990
  • Mellita kanakoffi Durham, 1961
  • Mellita notabilis H.L. Clark, 1947
  • Mellita quinquiesperforata (Leske, 1778)
  • Mellita tenuis H.L. Clark, 1940

Keyhole sand dollar refers to five living species of sand dollars in the genus Mellita, plus the extinct †Mellita aclinensis. They are found on the Atlantic coasts of the Americas, ranging across the Caribbean Islands (e.g. Bermuda, Jamaica and Puerto Rico), from the southern United States at the north, to the southeastern coast of Brazil at the south. Their range includes the Pacific coast of equatorial countries, such Central American countries and near, in the north sporadically across the Pacific coast of Mexico.