Mitra zonata: Shell up to 100 mm (4 inches) in length, fusiformly-ovate, sutures distinct; whorls 8-9 apart from protoconch, spire whorls weakly and regularly convex, sometimes weakly shouldered at sutures, smooth apart from longitudinal growth-striae. Aperture slightly shorter than the spire, narrow and elongate, smooth within, outer lip moderately thickened and simple; columella prominently calloused in adult specimens and with 4-6 oblique folds, siphonal fasciole straight, siphonal notch distinct. The light-coloured, creamy-brown shell is covered by a horny, dark brown periostracum which is ornamented by broad, marbled golden-brown transverse bands; on the spire whorls, the dark brown bands are very narrow but on the body whorl the golden-brown, marbled zone adjacent to the suture is narrow. Uniformly dark brown specimens with the pale zone obsolete or absent, have been recorded from the Adriatic and the Canary Islands. The aperture is white or bluish-white, the columellar folds are white and the parietal wall may be flushed with brown.