It is brown or chestnut-colored and covered with minuscule, translucent bristles, which give the species its common name.

It likes cool, wet, shady riparian zones, and prefers areas with a deciduous understory.

[3] The Trinity bristle snail is dependent on cool, moist conditions, and therefore it is only active at night.

[3] The species appears dependent on riparian habitats, and especially likes bigleaf maples (Acer macrophyllum), eating the leaves that are decomposing at the base of the trees (from observations during field work by Forest Service employee Gay Berrien who was involved with locating the snails during initial research in 1980).

There have been no studies that show it ever occupied a larger area than it does now—much of the northwestern portion of Trinity County.