Dark purple upper surface and deep orange colour below. The superomarginal plates are also distinctive, as they are situated largely along the sides of the arms and therefore appear longer than broad when viewed from above (other local species have the plates largely on top of the arms.) A large spine is also present on the innermost superomarginal plate, with the next one to three plates usually reduced and lacking spines, thereby creating a gap in the series of upward-pointing spines along the arms.

• Max Size: 18 cm
• Sea Temperature Range: 15.2-27.8°C
• Depth: 0-185m
• Habitat: Soft sediment

• IUCN Threat Status: Not Evaluated
• Occurrence: Rare (1% of sites)
  Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
• Abundance: Solitary (1 per transect)
  Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.