Shells volute-like, with consistent narrow profile, protoconch and teleoconch whorls pale coloured. Low axially continuous ribs cover the whorl to the shoulder. Average size (200+ specimens), 78.3 mm, ranging from 42.1 mm to 120.6 mm. May grow to in excess of 135 mm. Background colour pale salmon to flesh-coloured. Pattern of radial rows of thin, dark axial lines, sometimes with a distinct central band of darker colour. Random patches of brown colour on the dorsum. Shells often have -5 rows of distinctive pale radial dashes.
Distribution. Off the coastlines of Masirah Island and elsewhere, in the south-eastern Arabian country of Oman; mainly beach-collected to date, alluding to a shallow water habitat.

Comments. As has become clear, this more recent 'discovery' is with little doubt the true
representation of "Festilyria festiva". Images presented in this paper confirm the theory that the original specimen used by Lamarck for his (historical) description, is a shell from the area of Oman, and close to fully adult, not a juvenile as assumed by Weaver.

A fantastic dark variant of C. festiva is found in Dhofar, southern Oman by V. Dobson in October 2016 ... enhancing those radial dashes ... "Dobson's festiva" is currently the only known example of this rare colour form C. festiva var. dobsonae var. nov. This colour form is not found further north in Oman.
The Masirah Island population is the primary location for the C. festiva. Of the shells found there, approximately 2% of those collected show a strikingly different and stronger colour. This is shown centre left of p. 142 in Seashells of Eastern Arabia, 1995. Originally considered just to be a "fresher" specimen, this is now considered to be a much less common, but distinct, colour variant - C. festiva var. lizzae var. nov. also known as the "Type-2" of some authors and is named for the grand-daughter of the first author.

Callipara festiva: Type locality: Not exactly defined by Lamarck. Range: Apparently rather extensive. From the Arabian coasts down to North Mozambique. In fact, the central area of its distri¬bution seems to be along the Somali coast, where it is trawled in fair quantities.
Habitat: Sandy and muddy bottom at a depth of between 30 and 150 m.

Description: Large rhomboid shell, heavy and solid, measuring up to 250 mm long. Protoconch of a deep red colour, large and bul¬bous of one and a half whorls with a diameter up to 5.5 mm, deviated to the axis of the shell. This feature is unique in the genus.
Spire short. Teleoconch of 6-7 whorls angled by a strong shoulder. Sculpture of 15 strong axial ribs on the first 4-5 whorls tending to become attenuated on the last whorl in 10-11 thick nodules, abapically extended by some residual undulations on the surface of the body whorl. Aperture large and flared measuring 0.75 of the total length. Outer lip simply thickened. Columella slighty arched with three strong plaits followed adapically by 4-5 faint plicae. Siphonal notch broad and deep. Fasciole well marked. Background colour beige with large bright red blotches covering almost the entire shell on the first 2-3 whorls then becoming rarefied in scattered spots. Pattern of 7-8 spiral bands of more or less broken axial black lines very concentrated on the lip giving black spots on the edge. Fasciole, anterior and posterior ends of the columella heavily stained with deep black marks. Animal: Not available for study.

Comparison: Its large size with a globose tomato red protoconch makes it unique amongst the Lyriini. This feature precludes any confusion. This large paucispiral protoconch, tilted on the vertical axis resembles that of many species in Zidoninae and in Fulgorarinae in which it has been placed formerly.
Remarks: This species has few variants. Only the density of colouring and spiral pattern can vary from individual to individual; some shells are of an almost uniform cream colour.
Some small specimens of a slender outline have been named festiva deceptrix Palazzi, 1981 (PI. 51 Figs 1 - 4). It is only a variant without taxonomical value. Until 1970 this remarkable volute was known from ten specimens only. Nowadays it is frequently seen, even if intact specimens are rare since it is trawled in rather deep waters. Many specimens have a poor colouration with an eroded surface. Well patterned shells with large red blotches are very impressive and remain very much sought after.

TYPE: Holotype, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, general collection of Volutidae, No. 57. TYPE LOCALITY: Here restricted to Al Masirah Island off the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula where a dead beach specimen was collected by a Royal Air Force man who gave it to Dr. Donald Bosch about 1960 (Old, Jr., in litt.). This shell is deposited in the American Museum of Natural History, New York City. RANGE: Known only from the type locality. HABITAT: Unknown. DIMENSIONS: A large, fully adult specimen in the American Museum of Natural History, New York City, measures as fol lows: length, 135.0 mm; maximum diameter, 65.0 mm; aperture length, 92.0 mm; maximum diameter of protoconch, 4.0 mm. SHELL DESCRIPTION: Shell is large and massive. It is ovate- fusiform, with a moderately high, exserted spire, blunt at the apex. Protoconch is large and fulgoraroid, with about one and a half bulbous whorls coiled around a tilted axis. Teleo- conch has about five and a half gently sloping whorls axially ribbed from suture to suture. These ribs form low, strong nodules on the shoulder of the last two adult whorls. There are 12 such nodules on the penultimate whorl of a shell measuring 135 mm in length. On the body whorl above the anterior canal there are several strong revolving striae. Aperture is oblong, about three-fourths the total length of the shell; interior color is pale orange. Outer lip is thick- ened and longitudinally marked on the inside where outer surface chestnut bands terminate. Columella is orange; it is arched, with a heavy, raised callus and three anterior plaits (the middle plait strongest), followed posteriorly by about seven lirae. The base and upper portion of the inner lip are stained a dark-chocolate color. Siphonal notch is wide and shallow; fasciole present. Base color is pink-flesh overlaid with revolving interrupted bands of scarlet-red. Pale-colored areas between bands are irregularly marked with short, axial, chestnut lines and blotches. ANIMAL AND RADULA: Unknown. REMARKS: Almost all of the few known specimens of Festilyria festiva are from old collections and possess ques tionable locality data. The young specimen reported by Sowerby (1897) from the Natal coast is thought by Barnard (1959) to be either a Festilyria africana (Reeve, 1856) or a Festilyria ponsonbyi (E. A. Smith, 1901). Because of this confusion we have based our type locality on data accompanying a recently collected beach shell in the American Museum of Natural History, New York City. Festilyria festiva differs from its closest relative, Festilyria duponti Weaver, 1968, in being a much larger and more massive shell with gently sloping, nonturreted whorls, in contrast to the strongly shouldered turreted whorls of duponti. The protoconch of festiva is larger and has an additional whorl