Head and body length is 170-240 mm and tail length is about 35 mm. The coloration ranges through various yellow and brown shades. The ears are extraordinary in being flat against the head and immovable. Like the eyes, they are rounder in Massoutiera than in Ctenodactylus. A fringe of hairs around the inner margin of the ear, like that in jerboas and other desert rodents, protects the meatus from wind-blown sand.
Females have two pairs of mammae.
The basic ecology is as given above in the family account. Massoutiera is found mainly in mountainous areas that rise above the Sahara Desert. It lives in rock crevices, is diurnal, does not emerge in cold or stormy weather, often sunbathes, and feeds on plant material. Its survival seems to depend instead on taking advantage of available shade and wind, as well as on being able to feed on a variety of plants with a high water content. Massoutiera thumps with its hind feet when excited or alarmed.