[2] It is found attached to the bedrock and boulders at a depth of up to 1500 metres in sheltered environments where the water movement is low.

[2] In appearance, N. anomala resembles a cockle or limpet with a low conical, oval shell up to fifteen millimetres long.

[2] Novocrania anomala is a filter feeder, using the lophophore between the two valves to selectively catch particles that drift past.

Echinoderms such as the brittle star Ophiothrix fragilis are frequently seen with their arms protruding from rock cracks, whilst the starfish Asterias rubens and the sea urchins Echinus esculentus and Psammechinus miliaris occasionally form part of the community, as does the whelk Buccinum undatum.

[3] A survey was undertaken of the marine ecology in deep water off County Kerry in Ireland, The rock and boulders were covered with a fine silt and there were coralline crusts over most surfaces.