Shell rather small, 9-15 mm., solid, fusiform-biconic, with a tall tabulated spire and truncated body-whorl, terminated in a short widely open shallowly to moderately deeply notched anterior canal, backed in the type species by a moderate fasciole. Protoconch of 2 to 2,5 whorls, rather narrow but with a smooth blunt tip, the last half whorl developing arcuate protractive axial riblets. Adult sculpture of very strong rounded axial folds, obsolete over the shoulder sulcus, overridden by strong rather narrow spiral cords, which become thickened where they cross the axials. Suture submargined by a moderate cord which is waved by the underlying axials. Aperture rather narrow, with a thin outer lip, interrupted above by a deep narrow U-shaped sinus, constricted above by a heavy parietal entering callus pad; lower outer lip with a distinct stromboid notch. Colour of the type species brownish, the intercostal spaces darker than the ribs.

Shell claviform, rather small (7-20 mm), with moderate to high spire and short, somewhat squarely truncate base, with a distinct fasciole. siphonal canal moderately deeply notched; anal sinus fairly deep, U-shaped, somewhat constric¬ted by parietal pad, stromboid notch distinct; lip preceded by a varix; subsutural cord moderate, with distinct shoulder sulcus, rest of whorl sculptured by axial ribs, crossed by strong spiral lirae, sometimes rather nodose at points of crossing; drab or colourless, sometimes zoned with brown. Protoconch narrowly domed, of approximately 2-2,5 whorls, smooth, except for weak axial riblets (and sometimes faint spiral striae) on last half whorl. Operculum oblanceolate, with terminal nucleus. Radula typically crassispirine. Powell (1966: 78) followed Corea (1934) in ranking Buchema as a subgenus of Carinodrillia Dall. 1919, from which it differs in its non-carinate protoconch.

Corea (1934: 1-2) erected Buchema for Carinodrillia-like species that, among other differences, lacked a median carina on the nuclear whorls, had strong axial ribs with overriding heavy spiral cords, and with fine threads between the cords. In addition, she stated that Buchema have hair-like incremental lines that create a "cloth-like pattern, while their junction sometimes almost appears granuloses Not all species placed by-subsequent workers in the genus have the spiral threads between cords, or visible growth lines, but the other characteristics are found consistently in the group members. The small Buchema are similar in appearance to the Crassispira subgenus Monilispira Bartsch and Rehder, 1939. They differ from the Monilispira in lacking beaded spiral cords on the whorl periphery and shell base. Plain cords, or cords with swellings on rib crests, not rounded beads, are present instead. Another distinguishing characteristic, although not unique to Buchema, is the location of the subsutural cord, which is usually very near the suture, not positioned well into the sulcus as in some of the other subgenera within Crassispira.

Buchema is characterized by the presence of a secondary teleoconch sculpture consisting of both axial and spiral threads, which gives the shell surface a "cloth-like pattern" (see fig. M and Corea, 1934: plate 3). A further morphological character potentially useful in distinguishing Buchema from Crassispira is the protoconch sculpture. In both genera the protoconch is initially smooth then developing stout axial ribs but in Buchema the terminal portion is typically sculptured by thinner axial ribs. Corea (1934) described the protoconch of Buchema as follows: "the early whorls smooth, succeeded by a finely axially, closely lirate portion that passes into an axially slender ribbed part, which in turn passes into the postnuclear sculpture". In their recent classification of Conoidea, Bouchet et aL (2011) retained Buchema and Crassispira as distinct genera belonging to different families. Kilburn (1988) proposed the genus Psittacodrillia which is morphologically very similar to Buchema but differs in lacking a distinct subsutural cord, labial varix and fasciole. The new species from Somalia described below shares with American members of Buchema all diagnostic morphological characters and is accordingly considered the first eastern Africa record of the genus Buchema.

Range — Recent, Puerto Rico Deep, 17-120 fathoms.
Fossil: The Pliocene of Florida.