The outer shell layer of the Ouachita Rock Pocketbook is chestnut-brown to black with a silky luster and appears slightly iridescent when wet.  The inner shell lining is usually salmon-colored in its upper reaches, white to light blue below, and has a dark prismatic border.

The shell of the Ouachita Rock Pocketbook reaches a maximum length of about 4.5 inches, is subovate (nearly egg-shaped) in outline, and moderately inflated.  The posterior half of the shell typically exhibits low ridges that are crossed at times by smaller ridges.  These and other distinctive details of the shell are used commonly to identify the species.  The soft parts of the mussel have an anatomy typical for the subfamily to which the species belongs.  Only the outer set of gills is used by the females as marsupia.

Adults feed by filtering algae, other protists, microscopic animals, bacteria, and detritus from their surroundings.  Larval mussels (glochidia) live on the body fluids of host fish they successfully parasitize. After metamorphosis, juveniles become free-living and use foot movements to collect bacteria, algae, and fine detritus until they become functional filter-feeders.  

As with most freshwater mussels, the life cycle of the Ouachita rock pocketbook includes sexual reproduction and a required parasitic stage. During spawning, males release sperm into the water column, some of which are taken into females of the species, which carry eggs in their gills. Fertilization results in larvae (known as glochidia) that are released from the females into the water column and must attach to a suitable fish host to continue development. Once metamorphosis is complete, juvenile mussels drop off the fish host and continue life in the stream bottom. Known fish hosts for this species include the golden shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas), duskystripe shiner (Luxilus pilsbryi), and freshwater drum (Aplodinotus grunniens).

As with most freshwater mussels, the life cycle of the Ouachita rock pocketbook includes sexual reproduction and a required parasitic stage. During spawning, males release sperm into the water column, some of which are taken into females of the species, which carry eggs in their gills. Fertilization results in larvae (known as glochidia) that are released from the females into the water column and must attach to a suitable fish host to continue development. Once metamorphosis is complete, juvenile mussels drop off the fish host and continue life in the stream bottom. Known fish hosts for this species include the golden shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas), duskystripe shiner (Luxilus pilsbryi), and freshwater drum (Aplodinotus grunniens).

The Ouachita rock pocketbook lives in pools, backwaters, runs, and side channels of the streams where it occurs.  The species inhabits stable stream bottoms containing gravel, sand, and other substrate materials. The Ouachita rock pocketbook always occurs within large, high-quality mussel beds containing a diversity of mussel species.