Shell medium-sized, moderately slender, with 3,5 nuclear whorls, the last 1,5 bearing a sub-basal spiral keel, which gradually lowers until it disappears in the suture. The last third of the apex bears 4 or 5 widely spaced, curved, axial ribs. Six rounded whorls follow, with a well defined suture and sculptured with two spiral ridges on first whorl, three to four on the second, increasing to five on succeeding whorls and ending with from 14 to 16 on body-whorl, with one and sometimes two faint ridges, the first heavier than the second, in intervals between spiral ridges. The entire shell is covered with small axial ribs, unevenly spaced, interspersed with heavier varix-like ribs, forming nodules where these ribs cross the spirals. There are between 22 and 26 axial ribs on the body whorl. The color is light buff with faint cinnamon-buff splotches on the earlier whorls, which develop into three faint bauds on the body-whorl, the cinnamon-buff on three spiral ridges forming the first two bands and on six spirals for the third or anterior band. Aperture long-oval, white and shining. Canal deep, but little recurved, externally with a convex, but low siphonal fasciole. There are ten strong lirae within the outer lip, ending about 1,5 mm. from edge of lip. Columella bears a basal fold, above which are four irregular denticles. Parietal wall bears a spiral ridge, slightly above the middle. The posterior angle of the aperture has a slight callus. Near the base of the outer lip there is a shallow stromboid notch. The spiral ridges crenulate the edge of the outer lip.
Length 24 mm., width 10,5 mm. Length of aperture 12,5 mm.
Length 22 mm., width 9,5 mm. Length of aperture 11,5 mm.
Dredged at 65 fms. off Palm Beach. Florida. Type 178716 A.N.S.P.

Average 23.6 mm in length (min, 18.7; max, 32.2). Fusiform; spire ca. 50-60% of total length. Protoconch minute, white, conical, of ca. 2.25 smooth whorls with a sharp keel at periphery; first whorl is sunken into subsequent whorls; protoconch not distinctly delimited from teleoconch. Teleoconch of 6.5 whorls. Teleoconch whorls sculptured with widely spaced 1° spiral cords, ca. 15 cords on last whorl. 2° spiral sculpture of 2-4 threads between primaries. Axial sculp-ture of widely spaced, low, rounded ribs, ca. 14 ribs on last whorl, excluding varix, and 13-20 ribs on penultimate whorl. Previous varices very low, few. Terminal varix low, thick, very wide, crossed by numerous axial ribs. Intersections of axial and spiral sculpture form posterior-pointing serrations. Aperture elongate-oval, with 2-4 plications at the siphonal canal; anal canal with strong parietal tooth. Outer lip with 10-17 lirae deep within mouth. Columella continuous; parietal lip adherent to previous whorl. Siphonal canal short, open. "Stromboid notch" wide and shallow to deep. Colored uniformly white or with vague tan bands below suture, below periphery, and on siphonal canal, bands darkest on varices. Aperture white. Operculum leaf-shaped, yellow or reddish, with anterior terminal nucleus. Radula and anatomy unknown.

This is the commonly dredged Floridian Antillophos. It is usually misidentified as "candei." Although true A. candeanus overlaps A. virginiae in south Florida (both have been found in the same sample off Palm Beach), and even occurs in somewhat shallower depths, A. candeanus is the much rarer of the two species in Florida. Antillophos virginiae is a south Florida and Gulf of Mexico species whereas A. candeanus is a Caribbean species unknown from the Gulf outside of southwest Florida. Antillophos virginiae is similar in shape and size to A. candeanus but differs in its much finer, pustulose sculpture compared to the coarse, serrate sculpture of A. candeanus. Antillophos virginiae usually has weak denticles or plications on the columella that are absent in A. candeanus. It is most similar to A. oxyglyptus from the Caribbean, which also may have columellar denticles. Schwengel referred her species to Tritiaria, a genus now believed to contain only fossil species (Haasl, 2000). The western Panamic cognate is A. veraguensis (Hinds, 1843).

Distribution: Known from Bermuda, South Carolina, south Florida, and the Gulf of Mexico. Dalls record (1889b) of "Phos candei" from Hatteras, North Carolina, is probably this species.
Habitat: In depths from 8 m (rare) to 450+ m. Dead shells are common off SE Florida in depths of 120-200 mts; 27 specimens have been taken in a single sample. The few live individuals recorded were from 60-130 m. Garcia (2008b: 8) recorded it from a mud bottom.