The test is subcircular, is distinctly inflated and has moderately broad, naked median interambulacral regions that have slightly undulating edges. These are lilac, with each median region having an undulating purple line that starts from the genital plate and continues to just above ambitus. These naked median regions have red borders that continue onto the oral surface. Primary spines are slightly curved and irregularly banded dark red and green distally (on the dorsal surface) and are green proximally. The spine's collar has longitudinal ridges on the ventral surface, with granules but no ridges on the dorsal surface either side of the central ridge. Secondary spines are pointed (not club-shaped). No ophicephalous pedicellariae are present on the aboral surface, however, they are present around the mouth where they have unconstricted valves with distal and proximal regions of equal length. Triphylous pedicellariae and small tridentate pedicellariae occur in very large numbers on the aboral surface, including in the so-called naked median zones. The attachment points of the tridentate pedicellariae result in the very granular texture observed on the naked test.
This species can be differentiated form all other Recent Coelopleurus by its very inflated test (slightly flattened aborally in all other Recent species), by the abundance of triphylous and tridentate pedicellariae present on the aboral surface, and by the total lack ophicephalous pedicellariae aborally. Mortensen (1934) described this species as having ocular plate 1 insert in the apical disc. This is true for the holotype, but has not been observed in five other specimens of this species that I have examined. These specimens had dicyclic apical discs typical of the genus.
Throughout the Philippines and Indonesia.