The rigid shell has a pair of thick spiny valves held together by ligaments that run along the entire dorsal side of the bivalve.

Algae (e.g. Lobophora variegata) and invertebrates such as sponges and encrusting corals tend to grow on the exposed part of the shell and may camouflage it very well.

It is a benthic shallow water species and is typically found in soft-bottom silty habitats, with its narrow anterior end (umbo) burrowed down and attached to underground substrate by its byssal threads.

Unique gutter-like waste canals in the viscera of the inhalent chamber also help to keep gills and other organs clear from silt and other unwanted water-borne particules by expelling these as pseudofeces.

[1] Commensal symbionts such as crustaceans and a cardinal fish, Astrapogon stellatus, may be found sheltering inside the shell's mantle cavity.