Description: Very small and hard to detect species (♂ 4-5.5 mm, ♀ 5-6.5 mm). Ground colour is black or brown with a light margin along the lower edge of the pronotum. The head is flattened, eyes relatively large, pronotum dome-shaped. There are light patches on the abdomen and the legs.
Similar species: Xya pfaendleri
Adults: Imagoes can be found all year long, but most abundant between March and September.
Song: Males have no calling song.
Habitat:  Riverbanks. Active at night, digging burrows in the wet sand.
Distribution: Only a few records from Hungary. It seems to be less common than X. pfaendleri.