Shell fusoid in outline, with seven teleoconch whorls and a protoconch of one and one-half smooth bulbous whorls. Spiral ornamentation of very faint striae, covering entire surface; on body whorl four to six vague spiral cords, best seen in specimens still covered by intritacalx. Axial ornamentation beginning on first post-nuclear whorl with six rounded varices that each cross the suture, overlapping the previous whorl; varical formation progressively abapertural, giving a backward curve to the varical line extending from spire to canal. Aperture oval, inner lip smooth, appressed; outer lip smooth, slightly patulous; no trace of an anal canal; siphonal canal short, broad, partially covered by a shelly plate but open by a narrow slit, recurved at distal end. When fresh exterior surface completely covered by a thick, pale brown intritacalx, having a linenlike texture; when eroded the remnant intritacalx remaining between spiral threads giving a frosted white appearance. Colour beneath the intitacalx white except for two faint brown bands, one at the suture and one at base of the body whorl. Radula typically muricine, with a rachidian plate having three major cusps, alternating with two minor cusps.

Litozamia goldsteini: L. goldsteini Tenison-Woods 1875 (Trophon). "Goldstein's Litozamia." Short; chalky-white; distant, scarcely raised spiral lirae (four in last whorl) do not pass over the axial ribs which are scaly and flexuous anteriorly; adult whorls six, convex, angulate and coronate above; mouth ovate, enamelled, and chestnut-brown banded within; columella twisted; canal twisted, flexuous. Height 16, diam. 8 mm. General in South Australia but not common: beach to 150 fathoms. (Type locality—Long Bay, Tasmania). Some shells, dredged Gulf St. Vincent, are smaller, and with less prominent spiral lirae. The shell of L. goldsteini is composed of two distinct layers, an inner enamellike foundation and an outer dull white, loose textured, soft chalklike coating. In beach-rolled specimens this is more or less removed, leaving only the hard shining enamellike basis, which shows numerous spiral threadlets besides the few scarcely raised spiral lirae. After comparison with shells in the British Museum this species appears closely allied to Murex distinctus Cristofer, from the Mediterranean; another shell M. scalarotdes Blainville from Naples in the British Museum is almost certainly identical with distinctus.

Tasmania. Type location: Long Bay, Southern Tasmania.

Winston Ponder, of the Australian Museum, has prepared a radula of D. goldsteini and it is typical of the Dermomurex group, which in turn is typically muricid. Radwin and D'Attilio have illustrated the radula of D. obeliscus (A. Adams, 1853), showing the similarity to other members of the subfamily Muricinae, in contrast to the subfamily Trophoninae.