It is endemic to the deep-water mud volcano slopes in the Gulf of Cadiz in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

The fragile valves are equal in size and subcylindrical, with the beaks nearer the posterior end.

[2] Solemya elarraichensis is endemic to the volcanic area in the Gulf of Cadiz, off the coast of Spain.

The whole area is under compressive deformation and mud volcanism and the processes associated with the escape of hydrocarbon-rich fluids sustain a broad diversity of chemosynthetic organisms.

The area includes over forty mud volcanoes, a type of cold seep, at depths between 200 and 4,000 m (656 and 13,123 ft), and active methane seepage occurs in several places.