The Articulata are differentiated from the extinct subclasses by their lack of an anal plate in the adult stage and the presence of an entoneural system.

Articulata first appeared in the fossil record during the Triassic period although other, now extinct crinoid groups, originated in the Ordovician.

The stalk, which consists of numerous disks held together by ligaments, supports a calyx or cup made of circlets of calcerous plates.

Five often branched arms, which consist of articulated series of ossicles, extend from the oral plate and form the food-capture mechanism of Articulata.

Although they are passive feeders, some Articulata have been observed to move to better feeding areas either with locomotory mechanisms at the base of the stalk or by detaching and pulling themselves with their arms.