Shell small, white, thin, conical-elongated. Protoconch globose, smooth, with about 1,5 whorls. Proto teleoconch transition not discernible. Teleoconch with convex profile; in the third and fourth whorls, the main whorl diameter is in the anterior part of the whorl. Whorls increasing moderately in diameter. Smooth, except for irregular axial growing scars. Suture well impressed, with posterior border clearly extending over the anterior one, forming a projecting border. Supra-sutural microscopic spiral striation, visible only under very strong magnification, disappears towards the middle of the whorl. Base conical, convex. Aperture ovoid, peristome reflected on anterior side, with no thickening. Umbilicus narrow, partially covered by parietal wall.
This species is named in honor of the Kanela Indians, one of the indigenous peoples of Brazil. The name is employed as a noun in apposition. Holotype: 1.90 mm length, 0.75 mm width.

Five species of Aclis have been previously reported for Brazil (Rios 1994). Two of them are shallow-water species ( Aclis bermudensis Dall and Bartsch, 1911 and Aclis underwoodae (Bartsch, 1947)) and show distinctive shell profiles. Aclis hyalina Watson, 1881 was reallocated to the genus Costaclis Bartsch, 1947 by Bouchet and Waren (1986). The other two, Aclis sarissa Watson, 1881 and Aclis macrostoma Barros, Lima, and Francisco, 2007 are deep-water species from northern Brazil and will be discussed below. Aclis sarissa shows the typical elongated-turreted Aclis shell profile, with the first whorls markedly smaller than the last ones; whereas in Aclis kanela n. sp. the increase in shell width is more regular. The apex is also blunter than in the two former species. Finally, A. sarissa shows very fine axial lines, which are lacking in A. kanela n. sp.
Aclis macrostoma and A. kanela n. sp. share the same type of supra-sutural microscopic spiral striae. Aclis macrostoma has a more pointed protoconch than A. kanela n. sp., a much more obtuse spire angle, and an opisthocline aperture with reflected lips posteriorly and anteriorly; A. kanela n. sp. has the aperture almost orthocline and reflected lips restricted on the anterior side. A similar protoconch is present in Aclis attenuans Jeffreys, 1883 (Bouchet and Waren 1986: 305, fig. 730), but the whorls are regularly convex, whereas in Aclis kanela n. sp. the greatest whorl diameter is on the anterior part of the whorl; moreover, the lip in A. attenuans is more extensively reflected, whereas this reflection is more restricted in A. kanela n. sp. Finally, A. attenuans is a Mediterranean species, while A. kanela n. sp. is a South American one.