Basket stars can live to depths of almost 6,564 ft but are usually found 50 to500 ft below sea level. They live along the Pacific coast from the Bering Sea to southern California.

They can be found in abundance on mud or sand surrounding large bolders and around rocky areas with strong currents that carry its favored food, zooplankton.

When feeding, a basket star wraps several brachlets around its prey, forming a knot. This knotted arm is then drawn toward the central disk. The manner in which food is transfered through the disk to be digested is not yet known.

This is one of the largest basket stars and its central disk alone can grow to 14 cm with each arm being 4-5 times larger than its body. Individual color can range with orange-red and almost white tones being the extremes.

Fishermen will sometimes accidentally hook or net basket stars. Some locations, such as popular diving spots, have been cleared of the animals to keep them from snarling dive gear. These animals grow very slowly, and it could take many years for a population to be re-established in a cleared area.