Luidia aspera

The magnificent star usually has 10 long, tapering arms with pointed tips though there are occasionally 11 arms. One or more of these may be regenerating after being damaged or removed by a predator. The upper surface is covered with paxillae, pillar-like spines with truncated ends. There are also paxillae on the margins of the underside and multiple rows of tube feet running down the centre of each arm. The colour is variable, sometimes being creamy yellow with bands of red spots, but other specimens are darker in varying shades of brown and olive. The underside is usually creamy yellow and the tube feet are tipped with red. The magnificent star can grow to a large size. One specimen on the Pearl and Hermes Atoll, Hawaii, was found to be 84 centimetres (33 in) in diameter.

The magnificent star is found on sandy areas of the seabed surrounding Hawaii and the Philippines at a depth of between 18 metres (59 ft) and 133 metres (436 ft).