The shell can be anything from white through yellowish to a pale brownish-grey in colour, up to 6.5 cm in diameter.

The shell is thin but quite deep, with circular closely packed growth ridges.

It is a filter feeder, with long siphons, burying itself up to 20 cm deep in sand or mud.

Right and left valve of the same specimen: This species is commonly found at quite high densities on sandy or muddy sea coasts and estuaries[4] in northern Europe, the Mediterranean and West Africa.

The peppery furrow shell is edible and can be found in some fish shops in France, where they are called lavignons.