Tragosoma depsarium reaches a body length of 18 to 36 mm (0.71 to 1.42 in) and is slightly longer and narrower than the sawyer (Prionus coriarius).

[7] The head capsule is approximately square and narrowly and deeply notched posteriorly; there are distinct stemmata on its sides.

[7] In comparison to the larva of another member of the longhorn beetle family (Ergates faber), the third antennal limb is somewhat larger and cylindrical, and is about as long as it is wide.

[9] For Europe as a whole, a boreoalpine distribution is given, which means that the beetle is mainly found in cooler areas of the north and in higher alpine regions.

[3] As a boreoalpine, cold-loving species, the beetle lives mainly in cool coniferous forests and parklands at high altitudes.

[12] The development of the larvae takes at least three years[3] and occurs in the wood of older brittle trunks and stumps of conifers;[13] the animals pupate in early summer.

[9] A study in Sweden revealed that the larvae were primarily found in older tree trunks that were over 200 years old and that had been stored in dry and sun-exposed areas.

This was mainly attributed to the rapid colonization of the younger logs by brown rot fungi, which inhibit their usage by the beetles.

[15][16] The first scientific reference of this species was made by Carl Linnaeus, who described it as Prionus depsarium in his Systema Naturae in 1767.

[21] For Europe, on the other hand, the species was considered "not endangered" (least concern) in a report by the IUCN in cooperation with the European Union in 2010.

[22] According to Kust 2016, Tragosoma depsarium "is already considered threatened with extinction in Germany and, according to various specialist authors, is one of the greatest rarities in Central Europe.

[12] Given the results of the Swedish study, it can be assumed that the population is suffering from the segmentation of habitats with stands of old trees that are needed for their development.

Due to the loss of these habitats by about 25 % in the 10 years prior to the study, a rapid decline in the population was expected.

[15][16] A corresponding decline is also described for Russia, and the beetle is on the corresponding red lists of endangered species in numerous regions, including Karelia, Udmurtia, Komi, Chuvashia, Leningradskaya, Kirav, Tyumen, Ivanovo, Kaluga, Moscow, Yaroslavl and Nizhny Novgorod.