Mytella strigata is a moderately large, symmetrical shelled mussel, with an average size of 22–68 mm. Mytella strigata is generally observed in the middle intertidal and subtidal waters of estuaries and near coastal environments (Vallejo et al., 2017), and like all true mussels attach themselves to surfaces using byssus threads. Individual mussels have a diversity of external colour schemes from black, dark bluish, brown, grey, orange and (rarely) green (Lim et al., 2018). The species can also have a range of external shell patterns from zig zags, spots or concentric bands (Lim et al., 2018). The beak is generally short and rounded with a prominent dorsal angle (Introíni et al., 2010).

M. strigata can form dense clusters that colonise hard substrates or occupy epibenthic habitats, including other mussel species.