Shell minute, globose, semitransparent and without coloured bands. Whorls tumid with fine sculpture of many spiral and axial lines, the former more obvious (needs much magnification to be seen). Aperture round or squarish; a small umbilicus present. White or cream.
The shell is glossy and has 4-5 whorls, each sometimes a little flattened below the suture. The outer lip arises from the last whorl at right angles to the shell axis; the peristome by the columella is thin, a little everted. Up to 2 mm high, 1.5 mm broad; last whorl occupies about 70% of shell height, aperture 40%.
The animal is like Cingula trifasciata but more delicately built. It is cream with many white points. O. intersecta is widespread in the British Isles, though not common, and has also been recorded from Spain to Norway. It is not an intertidal animal but is dredged to about 50 m depth, usually on sandy bottoms or amongst algae.
A rissoid, described as Setia inflata Monterosato, 1884, dredged on coarse gravel 13-18 m deep in Karnes Bay, Isle of Cumbrae (Fretter & Patil, 1961), may prove to be either a variety of this species or a very closely related one. Its shell resembled that of O. intersecta closely but was a uniform greenish brown in colour, was smaller (1.25 mm high, 1 mm broad) and was without an umbilicus. The body differed from that of O. intersecta in that the cephalic tentacles were short, there was no right pallial tentacle and the ctenidium was reduced, partly replaced by a ciliated band. The body was cream, with the snout grey. Only the one animal has been found.

Judging from its rare occurrence in collections, Obtusella intersecta is usually overlooked because of its small size (1.2-1.5 mm, rarely 2 mm), although it often occurs in large quantities. It may be recognised from its rounded shape, distinct umbilicus, and fine spiral striation.

Shell small in sizes, transparent, globose in form, not much solid, whorls quite convex and suture broad, incised. Apex obtuse, protoconch missing of ornamentation. Sculpture of teleconch made by spiral striae thin, regular and homogeneous (about 30 on last whorl) covering the whole surface and crossed by thin growth striae. Aperture round in form, a little bit angulated in the upper zone, lip simple, without varices, umbilicus narrow and deep partially covered by the lip a little bit bent in the lower part of aperture. Operculum oval in form, smooth and thin, simple. This species is easily recognizable from other juvenile shells belonging to the family Rissoidae being small in sizes and due to its thin spiral sculpture. For this species CLEMAM quotes several synonyms (soluta, alderi, cantrainei, obtusa, globosa) considered as distinct species for a long time. Average measures of adult specimens are around 1-1.3 mm in height.

All coasts of Iceland and northern Norway (69°42' N), south to and throughout the Mediterranean. Depth range, intertidal to 40 m, occasionally deeper, especially in the southern part where it usually is found in 100-200 m. Habitat. Often in large quantities on sandy and silty bottoms with scattered algae (stable bottoms, not disturbed by wave action).

Habitat: it lives on sandy and gravelly bottoms in the presence of algae in the infralittoral and circalittoral zones. Distribution: it can be collected all over the Mediterranean. It is found into deep sediments too.

Obtusella instersecta is more well known under the names Cingula alderi (JEFFREYS, 1858) and Cingula soluta (not Philippi, 1836).