[2] Gracilechinus acutus usually grow up to 150 mm in diameter in their adult stage.

There are vertical white stripes on the ambulacral plates.

The Gracilechinus acutus have two types of spines, primary and secondary.

In a research done by the Spanish National Research Council, bottom trawling had a significant effect on the overall biomass and mean size of Gracilechinus acutus.

This showed that bottom trawling is a main source of disturbance in benthic habitats with effects on the ecosystem functional diversity.