[1] This species is endemic to the eastern coast of the United States, from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to northern Florida.

The shell is smooth and subpyriform (generally pear-shaped), with a large body whorl and a straight siphonal canal.

Channeled whelks prefer sandy, shallow, intertidal or subtidal areas, and can be common in these habitats.

Busycotypus canaliculatus, along with hard clam, is used in the creation of wampum, which is a traditional shell bead made by the Eastern Woodlands tribes of Native Americans.

Wampum was also used by the northeastern Indigenous tribes as a means of exchange, strung together in lengths for convenience.