[3] It was first described to science in 1872 by George Washington Tryon Jr.[2] The elegant lucine has large, flattened, saucer-like valves.

The exterior of the shell is white with a vivid reticulation, or net-like sculpture of rays and arcs.

[5] It is a shallow water species that lives from the intertidal zone to 50 meters (165 feet) deep.

[1][6] The elegant lucine is a filter feeder, straining plankton and other nutrients from sea water that it pumps through its body.

The bacteria are bathed in the sea water pumping through the gills of the animal from which they obtain sulfides and oxygen.