It is a small freshwater mussel with a sub-rhomboidal shaped shell and an average size of 2 inches (51 mm).

It prefers clean, silt-free, moderate-flowing streams with high oxygen content and gravel or coarse sand substrate.

It typically occurs in headwaters in rural areas due to its preference for pristine conditions.

The female releases sticky packets of glochidia (larvae) into the stream, which attach to the gills and scales of host minnows.

The larvae stay attached to the fish in a parasite relationship until they fully develop and metamorphose into juvenile mussels, after which they drop off into the stream bed.