Some authorities considered that they were aberrant hydrozoans while others thought that they were unusual scyphozoans, cubozoans or staurozoans.

The body is divided by a transverse groove beside which there are four muscular flaps or lappets used for swimming.

[3] Tetraplatia chuni is similar in shape and size to T. volitans but lacks the flying buttresses connecting the two ends.

[2] Tetraplatia volitans has s spindle shaped body 4-9mm long with a transverse groove nearer the aboral end.

The species has a cosmopolitan distribution, being found worldwide from the surface down to a depth of about 900 meters.