This is the only species of the genus Westralunio found in Australia.
Westralunio carteri generally has separate sexes (males and females), but hermaphrodites occur occasionally. Gametes (sperm in males or eggs in females) develop in the gonads and, with the onset of spawning, eggs migrate from the female gonads (ovaries) into specialised areas of the gills known as ‘marsupia’. At this stage, females are ‘gravid’. Fertilised eggs of Westralunio carteri (and other species of Hyriidae) are brooded to become embryos, which develop into larvae, known as ‘glochidia’.
Glochidia of most species of freshwater mussels are obligate parasites of fishes, but sometimes amphibians.
Growth slows as they age and the maximum recorded size for the species is 101 mm long, but are typically less than 90 mm long.
ge-at-length and growth rates are variable between populations, but for the populations which have been validated, maximum ages range between 40 and 50 years old and ages of individuals of the same size from different populations can vary by as much as 10 years.