The arms are cylindrical in cross section and the surface of the lateral scales bear long, sharp, transparent spines.

There is a purple, deep red or black stripe running the length of the aboral surface of each arm.

The colour of this brittle star is variable, being pale mauve, pink, yellow or red, and often the arms are a different hue from the disc.

[2][3][4] Ophiothrix suensoni is a common species throughout the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico from Bermuda and Florida south to Venezuela and Brazil.

It climbs to a high point on its host sponge or sea rod and extends some of its arms to catch plankton and suspended particles floating past.