Shell large. thin. lightweight, roughly elongate-ovate. Tall spire, 2 smooth whorls at the apex, 8 small spiral cords on later whorls and an incised but not deeply channelled suture. Body whorl smoothly sculptured with about 20 regular, shallow, rounded spiral ribs separated by low and rather broad grooves. Aperture very wide and elongate; columella with a small parietal callus; umbilicus deep. Anterior siphonal canal wide, very shallow and oblique notch at the end of a broad but low ridge, bordering the umbilical depression. Outer lip rather thin and sharp. Inner lip gently curved and reflected over the deep umbilicus. Colour: outer surface purplish- brown, with white lines in spiral grooves and many crescent-shaped whitish markings on the ribs. Interior yellow-brown, with the outer lip and the siphonal canal narrowly rimmed with brown. Columellar callus white and semi-translucent. Size: maximum shell length 200 mm, commonly 130 mm (Poutiers, 1998). Average shell length, width, aperture length and width measure about 100, 88, 90 and 50 mm, respectively.