Length, 3 mm; diameter, 1 mm

Shell: ovate; axial ribs cut into large nodules by spiral grooves; red-brown. Spire: protoconch of about four and one-half whorls, the apical one and one-half whorls smooth, the remaining whorls with a prominent, low-set carina; teleoconch of three whorls separated by a linear suture. Sculpture: convex, rounded, axial ribs cut by a deep spiral groove into two rows of nodules on each whorl. Aperture: narrowly ovate, about one-third the length of the spire; outer lip thickened; sinus subsutural, U-shaped, and with a large callus. Operculum: leaf-shaped with a terminal nucleus. Color: red brown. Anima!: exposed parts creamy white. Radula of simple marginals only (Powell, 1966)

C. minutissima was described from Fiji. Also known from Hawaii and shells resembling those from Hawaii also occur in New Caledonia. This minute turrid is very common under rocks in tide pools and on fringing reefs, and occurs in sediments to depths of 60 m.

The veligers are among the most abundant veligers in the plankton at Kaneohe Bay, Oahu; they metamorphose easily under culture conditions but do not grow much beyond their size at metamorphosis (length, 825 mu width, 560 mu) which suggests that they may be food specialists (J. B. Taylor, 1975). The premetamorphic protoconch has beaded spiral keels on the second, third, and fourth whorls and axial ribs on the third and fourth whorls (J. B. Taylor, 1975).