Shell medium-sized, up to 40 mm (if the first digit is included, up to 50 mm) with a moderately high spire. There are 7 to 8 subangled whorls with numerous fine growth striae. The spire has numerous fineraised spirals and one distinct cord on the shoulder thus giving it a subangular appearance. This cord often bears numerous small, sometimes axially elongated rounded knobs, especially on the penultimate whorl. On the body whorl the shoulder cord has only 3 to 7 of these knobs. Below the shoulder cord there are two more spiral cords on the body whorl, the upper one very distinct the other rather indistinct. The upper one may also have some small rounded knobs. The suture of the outer lip crosses the suture of the penultimate whorl and nearly reaches the suture of the adjoining whorl. The outer lip has three slender, spine-like digits. The first one points more or less to the apex, and reaches beyond it. First digit is not attached to the spire, the second one is a continuation of the second cord. The rostrum is also slender and of medium length. The colour varies from pale fawn to fawn.

This subspecies is regarded as the direct descendant of A. uttingeriana uttingeriana (Risso, 1826), a well known fossil from the southern European and near Eastern Miocene/Pliocene/-Pleistocene (Mienis, 1975). It appears to be rather arbitrary to name all fossil forms, known from a very extensive period, Aporrhais uttingeriana uttingeriana, and the recent form only Aporrhais uttingeriana pesgallinae. The distinction has been established on the form of the first digit. While this digit is connected to the spire over the entire length in A. uttingeriana uttingeriana, it is connected with the spire over 2 or 3 whorls only in A. uttingeriana pesgallinae. There are fossil specimens known in which the first digit is not connected to the spire entirely. Before we draw a more definite conclusion, more research has to be done. Mienis (1976) already demonstrated the synonymy of A. elegantissima with A. uttingeriana pesgallinae.

Western Africa; Mauretania/Senegal and Angola/Namibia. There is one record from the Mediterranean (on which the description of A. elegantissima is based) but it is very probable that this specimen was accidently transported by fisherman. No live record from the Mediterranean is known. The species lives at depths varying from 100 to at least 350 metres.