It has a cup-shaped body with 33-62 arms (usually ~45) about 20 cm (8 in) long, extended out from the central disc.

It feeds on detritus, phytoplankton and zooplankton caught by means of a sticky substance on the arms.

It can cling onto corals with short appendages called cirri, but it also can freely swim.

The larvae of this feather star swim freely with plankton for a few weeks, then they settle down growing into a stalked form.

This species is widespread in the western Pacific and in the Indian Ocean, from Bay of Bengal up to China Sea, Great Barrier Reef, Indonesia, Philippines, South Japan.