Holothurians in this order are characterised by ten to thirty much branched tentacles which are sometimes digitate.

They also have ring structures composed of ten calcareous plates circling the pharynx.

They have both retractor and introvert muscles which means they can retract the tentacles into the mouth when not feeding.

In some genera the animals attach themselves to hard surfaces but in others they burrow into soft sediments.

The larvae are lecithotrophic, not feeding on plankton but surviving only on materials already present in the eggs until they settle and become juveniles.