The unusually high variability of the living M. sowerbyi melvilli has been responsible for the description of two subsequent taxa from Indonesia and W. Australia. The subspecies melvilli is fairly variable in form and height of aperture, but it is the sculpture which is so highly variable in this species. Some individuals are sculptured with elevated spiral cords and weak axial striae while others show only pitted spiral grooves. In color melvilli varies from off-white, streaked with brown, to white with dark rusty-brown spiral cords; some individuals are marbled with dark reddish-brown zones or are orange-brown and zoned and spotted with white or brown.
Range - From Indonesia to W. Australia and the Solomon Islands.Habitat - Subtidal, 3-27 m.