Length 6 to7 mm. Head black. Pronotum black to dark brown, sometimes paler around the margins. Elytra usually brown, occasionally darker or even black. Abdominal tergites usually dark brown. Legs brown to dark brown. Antennae brown with segment 1 darker. Maxillary palps reddish with terminal segment slightly paler.

Recorded from a wide variety of habitats including rotten wood, litter piles, moss, river banks etc.

All year round.

Widespread in Britain and one of the more frequently recorded species of Gyrohypnus.

Fairly frequent in Leicestershire and Rutland. There were a total of 39 VC55 records for this species up to March 2015.