During the late afternoon and the night starfishes go out to hunt mainly bivalve molluscs, which are their favourite prey.

This species lives only in the Mediterranean Sea and it prefers sandy seabed near meadows Posidonia oceanica or Cymodocea nodosa or other mobile seabed in areas very rich in algae from 1 to 50 m deep.

The aboral side has always dark colour: brown, reddish-brown, rarely greenish.

It is the only Astropecten that often moves away from mobile seabed and it is possible to meet them on hard bottoms, in cave or climbing on Posidonia oceanica.

This sea star is a carnivore and feeds on molluscs, which it catches with its arms and then takes to the mouth.