Shell (New Caledonian specimens) up to 11.7 mm high, glossy, stout; spire narrowly conical, very weakly cyrtoconoid, 2.17x as high as aperture: mean spire angle 51 degrees anomphalous.
Colour of tip of apical Ibid reddish brown, protoconch elsewhere colourless and translucent. Subsequent whorls buff white, spiral interspaces on spire each with fine yellowish brown spiral line, P4 spotted yellowish brown, base buff white.
Protoconch 300 µm wide, sculptured with network of fine, crisp threads that enclose roughly hexagonal spaces, apical fold tip narrowly tapered, terminal varix strong,
Teleoconch of up to 6,60 whorls, no post larval growth scar or varix. First whorl convex, subsequent whorls almost fiat, suture essentially Hush: periphery angulated at P4, tightly rounded on last adult whorl; base weakly convex. Spiral cords on spire and base prominent, multiplying by intercalation; axial costae strong on 1st 3 whorls, almost obsolete thereafter. P1-P4 commencing immediately; P1 commencing later than P2, rapidly enlarging to resemble P2 by end of 1st whorl, P3 and P4 stronger than P1 and P2 troughout. P4 almost entirely exposed on spire. Secondary spirals enlarging to resemble P1 and P2, S1 commencing mid 4th whorl, S2 commencing early 4th whorl, S3 absent. Tertiary spirals remaining weaker than primaries, one commencing mid 5th whorl between suture and P1, another commencing late 5th whorl between P2 and S2. Nodules roundly conical on spire, strong on P3 and P4 on 1st 3 whorls, becoming irregular in size on P3 and P4 from mid 3rd whorl, the largest nodules larger than those on other spirals. Base with 13 similar, rounded spiral cords with small rounded nodules. Spiral interspaces on all spire whorls with crowded spiral lirae, fine collabral growth lines throughout. Aperture subquadrate. Outer lip thin at rim, rather strongly thickened within. Inner lip thick. Parietal inductura extremely thin.
Animal, External anatomy unknown (available material dry).
Radula with the formula oo + 7 + 1 + 7 + oo. Innermost marginal slender, little stouter than adjacent marginals and not as strongly differentiated from them as in most other Calliostomatinae. Radula otherwise rather similar to those in Calliostoma

Dactylastele poupineli is highly distinctive in the combination of very rapid development of P1-P4 on the first teleoconch whorl, the strong nodules on P4, the fine interstitial spiral lirae, and the colour pattern. Dactylastele poupineli is one of the most widely distributed calliostomatids in the western Pacific, which suggests that is has a free-floating larval stage (lecithotrophic) of exceptionally long duration.
Calliostoma (Fautor) comptum has been frequently treated as a synonym of D. poupineli (e.g. FISCHER, 1879; IKEBE, 1942; HABE, 1961; KOSUGE, 1984), although they actually differ in numerous details of colour pattern, sculpture and radular morphology. Their protoconchs are, moreover, quite different in sculpture and size (width 500 µm in C. comptum). As suggested by BRAZIER (1895), and supported by HEDLEY (1913: 279), ADAMS (1855) erred in recording C. comptum from New Caledonia, since the syntypes (BMNII 1968177) are indistinguishable from the narrow New South Wales form of the species, which is widely distributed in southern Australia and unknown from elsewhere.

DISTRIBUTION Japan, Okinawa, Philippines, Queensland, Lord Howe Island, New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands, Fiji, intertidal to 350 m, living intertidally to 8 m amongst coral.