The shell is of moderate size (maximum length 35 mm) and broadly fusiform. The spire is moderately high, consisting of two and one-half nuclear whorls and five strongly shouldered postnuclear whorls. The suture is moderately impressed. The body whorl is large and broadly fusoid. The aperture is subovate, its posterior margin flattened; the anal sulcus is imperceptible. The outer apertural lip is strongly erect and coarsely crenulate, its inner surface crenulate marginally, smooth within. The columellar lip is detached and erect. The siphonal canal is long, very narrowly open to the right, and dorsally recurved.
The body whorl bears five spinose varices. Intervarical axial sculpture is lacking. Spiral sculpture consists of five major cords on the body, these beginning at the shoulder margin, three more in the space between the body and the canal, and two others on the canal; minor cords alternate with the majors on the body. The major cords are very weakly marked in the intervarical spaces; over the varices, however, they are developed into long, narrow, foliaceous spines of equal length that are narrowly open on their loading edges. A webbinglike expansion of the varix extends to about one-half the length of the spines. Where they are extended into spines the major cords become transversely tripartite, with a single major, transverse ridge flanked on each side by a single minor ridge. The entire shell surface is covered with fine spiral threads and scabrous laminae.
Shell color is pale yellow-ochre to rich purple-brown, with a white aperture.

Gulf of Mexico to the southern Caribbean in moderately deep water.

Testa brevissime fusiformis, parum crassa sed solidula, paululum translucida, unicolor, albida; spira sat elongata; sutura profunde impressa; anfr. 7 1/2-8 sexvaricosi, primi subangulati, vix aut non spinosi, antepenultimus et penultimus varicibus in spinas longiusculas , excavatas desinentibus instructi, costis 2 validis spiraliter muniti, ultimus spiram superans (:: 22 : 14), transversim costis 5 validis minutissime squamosis, versus marginan externum in spinas totidem desinentibus et costulis minoribus, in interstitiis sitis, separatis impressus, et spinis quinqueseriatim dispositis et varicibus correspondentibus ornatus, serie prima spinarum subincurva, majore, e costa suturae magis vicina oriunda; apertura ovata, parva, subintegra, intus laevigata, alba, in canalem longiusculum, fere clausum, subrecurvum, utrinque sat breviter spinosulum desinens; peristernium albidum, subcontinuum, margine columellari laevigato, subarcuato, leviter prominulo, externo ad limbum subundoso, mox extus, occursu varicis, in alam apertura latitudinem superantem, et in interstitiis spinarum lineis undosis elegantissime sculptam producto. — Long. 36, diam. maj. (cum spinis) 27 mm. Apert. 8 mm. longa, 5 1/2 lata (coll. Paz).