The Northern riffleshell lives in highly oxygenated riffle areas of rivers or streams. In the past, it could be found throughout the Ohio River system and in portions of the Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair drainages, but its range has been drastically reduced. In Canada, there are 20 known records of the species.

Adults' shell lengths range from 4.5 - 7.6 cm. The shell of this mollusc is brownish yellow to yellowish green with diffuse, fine green rays. Adult females have a broadly rounded expansion of the shell that makes them easy to identify and distinguish from the males. Unlike other species of freshwater mussels, it lives for a fairly long time-15 years or more, in some cases.