[4][5] These sea cucumbers reach around 20 cm (8 in) in length and have ten branched oral tentacles ranging in colour from orange to black.

[6] This species has a football shape with a leathery skin ranging in colour from yellowish white to dark brownish-black and is covered with five rows of retractile tube feet.

[8] The sexes can be identified by the conspicuous tube-shaped (female) or heart-shaped (male) gonopore located under the crown of oral tentacles.

Most sea cucumbers are deposit feeders but Cucumaria frondosa are a suspension feeding[13] organism where they catch available particles in the ocean on their tentacles.

The chlorophyll concentration increases during this time due to a phytoplankton bloom season and larger amount of primary production.