Diagnosis: Surface glossy, sutures stepped but not distinctly channelled, axial ribs straight, weaker on body whorl than on spire, bearing two rows of small spinous nodules separated by a shallow furrow below suture, spiral grooves only on base of body whorl; mottled with brown. Maximum length 72,7 mm.
Description: Oblong-fusiform, spire sharply conical, whorls moderately rounded, narrowly stepped but not channelled at suture; aperture narrowly lanceolate, greatest width just anterior to middle; labrum gently curved, thickened, with short pleats along its inner margin; parietal callus extensive, thin, translucent, not masking underlying sculpture and pattern; columella with 11-12 thin, sharp, obliquely transverse folds, the anterior five or six being the strongest and most widely spaced. Sculpture of almost straight, angulate, slightly opisthocline, axial ribs, 17-21 on first teleoconch whorl, increasing to 24—30 on penultimate whorl, becoming progressively weaker with age, and finer and more irregular towards the end of the body whorl; from first whorl onwards a shallow concavity traverses the ribs, which forms a small spinous nodule on each side; spiral sculpture absent, except on the base, where there are 10-14 rough grooves, whose intervals become ridge-like on the rostrum. Surface glossy; ground colour light yellowish-brown with spiral rows of diffuse light brown to (pale) brownish-orange blotches, rarely forming faint spiral bands (ISCC-NBS terminology).
Protoconch mamillate, slightly over 2 strongly convex whorls, apical whorl depressed; maximum diameter 2,3-2,8 mm. Dimensions: 66,4 x 26,1 mm (holotype); 65,9 x 26,2 mm; 73,8 x 30,1 mm (paratypes).

Volutocorbis magister has been confused with A. boswellae Rehder, 1969 (Fig. 11), which it very closely resembles. Dr Harold Rehder (in litt. to A. Jenner) has, however, commented on the distinctiveness of the present material. V. magister has only two rows of spinous nodules below the suture, while boswellae always has a weak third at least on the spire; in magister the protoconch is also larger (maximum diameter 2,3-2,8 mm as against 2,0-2,2 mm in boswellae), the spire higher (ratio of length of aperture/total length 0,62-0,67 against 0,67-0,68), breadth is relatively less (breadth/total length 0,39-0,42 against 0,42-0,53), the labrum is less curved and the spiral grooves are more restricted.

South-Africa. Continental slope between Cape Agulhas and Cape St Blaize.