DIAGNOSIS: An elongate Columbarium with prominently shouldered whorls and posteriorly directed keel spikes. Posterior whorl slope smooth; anterior whorl slope usually smooth apart from the anterior carina.
DESCRIPTION: Shell elongate, fusiform with an elongate gradate spire of prominently shouldered whorls usually bearing posteriorly directed keel spikes. Posterior whorl slope smooth, convex to concave; anterior whorl slope with the anterior carina and generally no other spiral sculpture apart from a few threads near the beginning of the canal. Aperture subquadrate. Canal long, twisted with several weak lirae bearing small scales.
DIMENSIONS: Holotype L 44 mm.

The original illustration shows that the holotype had a shortened canal which was probably broken, as all specimens of C. pagoda which have been examined have much longer canals with two prominent twists. Lesson gives the measurement of his specimen as 20 lignes in length (45 mm) and the specimen in the Delessert Collection has a shortened canal (broken, E. Binder pers. comm.) and is 44 mm in length. The holotype was in the collection of Prince Massena d'Essling, Duke of Rivoli, who sold his collection to Benjamin Delessert in 1840. Therefore there is no doubt that specimen 1108/7 in the Delessert Collection is the holotype. It has been figured previously by Chenu in his Manuel
There are two infra-specific names which have been applied to C. pagoda. The first C. pagoda forma stellatum Habe 1953 (p. 182 as stellata) was applied to 'those individuals with larger shell, few spines of larger size which radiate in rather horizontal manner, but there exist all lands of transitional forms between (the) two'. Subsequently the name has been used with a different spelling (stellare) as a subspecies of C. pagoda (Habe 1961, p. 68) but this is not warranted as the forms appear to make up portion of the 'typical' population of C. pagoda. The second name C. pagoda costatum Shikama 1963.(as costata) applies to a group of shells having prominent spinose lirae in addition to the anterior carina. The information on this group is limited and, as yet, no attempt has been made to map their distribu¬tion, but there is a distinct possibility that the subspecies may be recognized for the west coast shells, whilst C. pagoda pagoda would apply to the east coast group.

LOCATION OF TYPE: Holotype, Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, Geneva: 1108/7, Delessert Collection.
OCCURRENCE: Southern Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, Japan.