This species was historically widespread in the Ohio River and Great Lakes drainage basins.

Like many other North American freshwater mussels, it relies on a habitat of shallow, gravelly riffle zones in larger rivers.

This oxygen-rich habitat has largely been destroyed over the past 200 years by dam construction and dredging, which caused a massive population decline.

This changed in 1994 when a few young individuals were found in Killbuck Creek, Ohio, indicating a small breeding population.

An attempt to collect young individuals was made in order to start a captive breeding program.

Only a single population has persisted into the modern day, found in Fish Creek, a tributary of the St. Joseph River in Indiana.

Basic organismal research needs to be done on the catspaw mussel if there is any hope of reintroduction to its historical ranges.