It was discovered in eastern Pacific Ocean by a group of Californian and Australian scientists.

[1] X. profunda shares morphological similarities with other species of the genus Xenoturbella, and is known for lacking respiratory, circulatory and an excretory system.

The body wall displays several furrows: on the circumference, on the side, and two deep, longitudinal, dorsal ones.

The species is gonochoric, and gametes are present dorsally and ventrally in the body wall.

[1] Comparison of mitochondrial DNA and protein sequences showed that the species X. profunda is the sister group to X. churro.