Radular tooth: Serrations are absent; terminating cusp is present; anterior section of the tooth much longer than the posterior section of the tooth; waist is indistinct; basal spur is present; barb and blade are short.
Shell characters: Cords are present on whorl tops; the anal notch is moderate to deep; the operculum is small; the periostracum is smooth; the protoconch is multispiral.

Calamiconus includes species with conical shells and with radular teeth that do not have serrations but that do have a terminating cusp. This tooth separates Calamiconus from Stellaconus and Strategoconus, two genera of Puncticuliinae similar in shell morphology. Both of these have radular teeth with serrations. The elongated nonserrate tooth resembles those found in Lividoconus. The anterior end of Calamiconus is not colored, whereas they are colored blue, purple or brown in Virgiconus and Lividoconus.

This subgenus contains species that occur in the Indo-Pacific region.