Distinctive features are 1) conical-turreted, straight-sided shell attaining 15 mm in height, 2) suture flush, 3) body whorl with angular periphery in earlier stages, less so in fully grown shells, 4) umbilicus moderately narrow and deep, bounded by distinct angulation, 5) outer lip straight, slightly opisthocline, 6) outer surface polished, with spiral microstriation; fresh shells exhibit 3 brown spiral bands, the peripheral being the only one visible on earlier 7-8 whorls.
DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT. Niso venosa ranges in the Indo-Pacific. It is a shallow water element occurring in sand and sandy mud; shells are frequently washed ashore. Accord¬ing to BOSCH & BOSCH (1982), the species is found crawling just under the surface of the sand.
FOSSIL RECORDS. Holocene of Thailand.

15mm. Thin, smooth, glossy, narrowly elongate, straight sided (but base of each whorl slightly broader than its successor), last whorl rounded (more angular in juveniles), apex tapering evenly to a point. Umbilicus narrow but deep. Scarcely raised varices, 1 or more per whorl. Outer lip straight in profile. White to beige with reddish brown, spiral bands (3 on last whorl), varices similarly coloured. Habitat: offshore presumably with echinoderms. Distribution: all.