Adjoining this is the cloaca through which defensive white sticky threads, the cuvierian tubules, may be ejected when the animal is stressed.

The body colour is cream or orange partially obscured by variable numbers of dark brown speckles and blotches.

On the underside is a wide pale-coloured longitudinal stripe and many short, slender tube feet with knobbly tips.

[2] It lives on the sandy or gravelly bottoms of shallow water areas and seagrass meadows at depths down to about 36 metres (118 ft).

It uses its tube feet to move around and scoops sand, mud and debris into its mouth with its oral tentacles.