One distinct characteristic of those in this family is the presence of an aboral face shaped by crescent-like plates.

Organisms within the genus Aquilonastra typically have five rays, commonly called arms.

[3] Though not much is known yet of the biological behaviors and properties specific to Aquilonastra chantalae, such information can be extrapolated from knowledge of the family of sea stars to which it belongs, Asterinidae.

A great majority of Asterinidae, and likely Aquilonastra chantalae, feed on algal or bacterial mat and other floating fragments of food.

[4] The species was named chantalae in reverence of the great contributions to the research of echinoderms done by Chantal Conand.