Protoconch multispiral. « Whorls 8, sculptured with strong transverse costae, tuberculated and closely spaced; the tubercles are nodulose, and their interspaces are adorned with small raised lines; suture narrow and deep; the colour is of a purple brown, marked with irregularly arranged white bands. » – A. Risso: Histoire naturelle… vol. IV, Paris 1826, p.214.

In specimens with a fine sculpture, « the tubercles on the first 2 adapical cords are spiny and close to each other forming a narrow subsutural ramp » (Manousis & al., 2018).