Shell smooth, semitransparent; almost biconical. Protoconch; broadly conical, of about 3 whorls; nucleus and first postnuclear whorl smooth, remaining whorls with a weak median thread; protoconch well demarcated from teleoconch by a deep sinus. Teleoconch: of about 8, almost flat-sided, smooth whorls; base of last whorl with about 8 spiral cords; suture shallow, not impressed. Aperture: very narrow; outer lip hardly thickened externally; posterior sinus shallow; inside of outer lip with a variable number of teeth (4 to 7), the posterior ones more prominent than the anterior ones; columella weakly convex, with some denticles, corresponding with the spiral cords on die shell base; inner lip thin; anterior canal very short. Colour: shell yellowish to pale brown, with one subsutural colourless transparent zone and with spirally arranged, brown, arrow-shaped markings below this zone; brown subrectangular markings on the submedian part of the spire whorls; a double row of brown markings On the last whorl. Radula: each radular row consisting of a subrectangular median tooth, flanked at each side by one sigmoid tricuspid tooth with the two uppermost cusps sharp, the basal one subtriangular.

The holotype of Columbella melvilli Hedley differs only from the probable syntypes of P. abyssicola in having broader axial markings on the whorls, but it cannot be sufficiently separated from the typical R abyssicola, and accordingly C. melvilli is regarded as a synonym of P. abyssicola.
The syntypes of Columbella semipicta Sowerby differ only from the probable syntypes of P. abyssicola in having more numerous axial markings on the whorls, but are otherwise indistinguishable from the latter; the colour pattern of Colum-bella subphilodicia Hervier is very similar to C. semipicta.
Columbella delineata Thiele, 1925, from the Strait of Malakka seems to be very similar to C. abyssicola, but this identification cannot be verified, because we did not examine the type material and because the original description and illustration are too inaccurate for species recognition.
R abyssicola strongly resembles Columbella shepstonensis Smith, 1910, from Natal, but differs in being less fusiformly elongate and in having a different colour pattern; in C. shepstonensis the whorls have a narrow subsutural, brown coloured, spiral band, which is sometimes interrupted, and below this band there are subquadrangular brown spots, which alternate with white spots.
The syntypes of Columbella (Mitrella) angasi Brazier, 1871 are similar to the probable syntypes of P. abyssicola, but differ in having more convex whorls, in having a strongly impressed suture, in lacking the denticles on the inner lip and in the teeth on the inside of the outer lip being more prominent.