The five primary arms of Gorgonocephalus fork again and again, so a single animal presents thousands of fine terminal branches. Held into the flow, this mesh works as a passive filter. Tiny hooks and spines on the branch surfaces snag zooplankton, which the tendrils then curl around and pass toward the mouth on the underside of the central disc.
The posture is tied to feeding conditions rather than to light alone. Basket stars typically perch on raised structures such as sponges, gorgonians or rock edges where the current is strongest, and they contract into a knot when the water goes slack or when disturbed.
The animal is often mistaken for a soft coral or a plant because of its branching form, and it is sometimes described as a filter feeder in the sponge sense. It is not: it captures individual prey items mechanically. How the branching net is coordinated without a centralised brain, given that echinoderms have only a nerve ring and radial nerves, remains an interesting open question.