At one time it was classified as Nemaster rubiginosa but the World Register of Marine Species has determined that the valid name is Davidaster rubiginosus.

It has twenty to thirty five arms 10 to 20 centimetres (3.9 to 7.9 in) long radiating from the calyx, a cup-like body with a lid, the tegmen.

Its range includes Florida, the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Bahamas southwards to the coast of Brazil.

In the daytime it usually keeps its body hidden in a crevice, under coral or inside a sponge, with several of its arms extended to filter feed.

[2] At night it emerges from its hiding place and may be found poised on top of a coral or sea fan with its arms extended to feed.