Chicoreus varius: The shell is small for this genus (maximum length 65 mm) and fusoid. Its spire is high, with three nuclear whorls and five or six shouldered postnuclear whorls. The suture is weakly delimited and generally obscured by the succeeding whorl. The body whorl is moderately large and fusoid. The aperture is of moderate size and ovate, with a narrow, very shallow anal sulcus posteriorly, this strengthened by a spiral ridge. The outer apertural lip is moderately to strongly thickened, and its interior is briefly lirate. The columellar lip is entirely adherent. The siphonal canal is broad and narrowly open to the right.
The bodywhorl bears four to seven weakly spinose varices. In addition, one or more inter-varical spaces bear a prominent axial ridge. Spiral sculpture consists of numerous cords and threads of various strengths. Where the strongest spiral elements intersect the varices, short, stout, partially open spines are developed, the longest one at the shoulder edge and another prominent spine at the anterior end of the body whorl; below this are two shorter, ventrally bent spines and a single moderately long spine on the canal; and some specimens carry one or two additional prominent spines between the shoulder spine and the basal bodywhorl spine. A series of much smaller, ventrally bent spines may alternate with these longer spines on the body whorl.
The shell is pale flesh-colored, with darker brown on the spiral cords and a brown suffusion at the end of the siphonal canal.

Chicoreus varius: a short note, Sowerby (1841) stated that "a variety occurs with more than three varices." However, the original illustration and all subsequent figures but one have shown the form with five varices. Knudsen (1956) figured a form with three varices from the west coast of Africa under the name Murex senegalensis Gmelin, 1791, a species limited to the Brazilian coast. This form with three varices differs consistently from the more typical "multivaricate-form" of M. varius in its smaller number of varices, its possession of a persistent intervarical node, its proportionately longer canal, and its shorter spire. In general, these two forms differ largely in terms of greater or lesser development of the same elements (see Siratus senegalensis for additional explanation).

Chicoreus varius: Western Africa: Senegal to Angola.