It is found on gravel, sand and mud substrates in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea at depths down to about 40 m (130 ft).

[2] The tentacular plume is up to 60 mm (2 in) long; the bases of the tentacles are thick and whitish, the secondary branches are black and needle-like, and these bear transparent wispy filaments that give a vaporous effect.

Its range extends from the Shetland Isles and the coasts of Britain and Ireland to the Bay of Biscay and the western Mediterranean Sea.

It is found semi-buried in the sediment on soft bottoms, such as gravel, shelly sand or mud, from the intertidal zone down to about 40 m (130 ft).

The barrel-shaped larvae have a short planktonic life before sinking to the seabed and undergoing metamorphosis into juvenile sea cucumbers.