General Description:  This freshwater mussel has a greenish brown to dark brown, unsculptured, oval shell which has a trapezoid shape.  Younger specimens may have faint greenish brown to black rays. The largest specimens measure about 11.5cm (4.6in) in length, 3.9cm (1.6in) in width, and 6.8 cm (2.7in) in height.  The inside surface (nacre) is typically pearly to bluish white, grading to orange in the umbo area or may be entirely mottled, pale orange in older specimens (Keferl 1991).

General Habitat:  The current distribution is very fragmented.  It has limited distribution in North Carolina and historically was known from the Pee Dee and Savannah River systems and possibly the Saluda river system in South Carolina.  Alderman (1995) collected this species in the Steven’s Creek watershed; it has also been found recently in Edgefield County in Beaverdam, Mountain, and Turkey Creeks.