Wrigleya complanata was a medium-sized siphonate whelk with a short, stout shell, an inflated body whorl and a broad aperture. Its shell form indicates a mobile seabed animal equipped with an inhalant siphon, suited to moving across the soft London Clay sea floor rather than remaining fixed in one place.

Its diet is not directly known. If the current London Clay placement with Wrigleya is correct, comparison with related predatory and scavenging whelks suggests that it probably searched the seabed for animal prey or carrion, using chemical cues carried to the siphon. This ecological interpretation remains an inference while the generic placement of the species is under taxonomic review.