The life habit of the adult is epibiotic on bare basalt and other hard substrates (e.g. tubes of vestimentiferans) associated with deep-sea hydrothermal vents. The presence of this species is correlated with elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide. Endemic to vents. Protoconch 0.4 mm in length, indicative of a planktotrophic larval stage with a high dispersal capability. Paired ctenidia consist of inner and outer demibranchs, each with descending and ascending lamellae. The gills contain sulphur- oxidizing chemoautotrophic symbionts. A commensal polychaete (Branchipolynoe symmytilida) is frequently found within the mantle cavity of the mussel.