Upogebia deltaura is up to 100 millimetres (3.9 in) long, and is a dirty yellow colour, tinged with green, white or red.

[3] It is often confused with other species which it closely resembles,[2] such as Upogebia stellata, which has additional ocular spines and a narrower abdomen.

[3] The mouthparts are densely setose, which helps to filter particles out of the water.

[5] It may also extend as far as Togo, West Africa,[5] but possible confusion with other taxa makes this difficult to assess.

[3] U. deltaura is the most abundant large crustacean and the deepest burrowing (up to 68 centimetres or 27 inches) large animal in Scottish maerl beds, and will reconstruct its burrow after disturbance by storms or trawling.