Shell medium sized for the genus, up to 17.3 mm in length at maturity (paratype MNHN-IM-2000-34208). Length/width ratio 2.0-2.1. Slender, lanceolate, narrowly ovate, heavy, nodose. Subsutural ramp broad, strongly sloping, weakly concave. White or light tan, usually with spiral cords topped with brown; occasionally pure white. Siphonal canal brown or light brown and darker on tip. Aperture white. Spire high with 3.5 protoconch whorls and teleoconch up to 5 broadly ovate, convex, weakly shouldered, nodose whorls. Suture adpressed. Protoconch small, conical with a very narrow keel abapically. Whorls smooth, glossy, height and width 900 µm. Terminal lip erect, of sinusigera type.
Axial sculpture of teleoconch whorls consisting of high, strong, broad, rounded, nodose ribs. First whorl with 9 ribs, second and third with 9 or 10, fourth with 9-11, last whorl with 8 or 9 ribs. Spiral sculpture of low, rounded, narrow, smooth, primary, secondary and tertiary cords. First teleoconch whorl with visible SP. IP, P1 and P2; second whorl with SP, adis, IP, P1, s1, P2, s2; third and fourth with additional abis and tertiary cords. Last whorl with SP, adis, IP, abis, P1, s1, P2, s2, P3, s3, P4, s4, P5, s5, P6, s6, ADP, ads, MP and ABP; P4 occasionally broader and higher with high knobs at intersection with axial ribs, then usually lighter or white coloured.
Aperture narrow, ovate. Columellar lip narrow with weak, low parietal tooth at adapical extremity and 2 or 3 elongate, low, narrow folds abapically. Rim weakly partially erect, adherent at small portion at adapical extremity. Anal notch deep, broad. Outer lip erect, smooth with 6 weak, low, elongate denticles within, consisting of ID, D1-D5. Siphonal canal short, 16- 18% of total shell length, narrow, dorsally recurved, broadly open.
Operculum unknown. Radula with three dimensional rachidian tooth bearing a long, narrow, projecting central cusp, a small, narrow lateral denticle on each side, a medium sized lateral cusp, as broad as central cusp but shorter, and a few marginal folds. No marginal cusps. Lateral teeth sickle shaped, relatively broad.

Cytharomorula grayi, with which C. elegantula n. sp. has often been confused, differs in having a more strongly shouldered, less fusiform shell with a narrower, more concave and less strongly sloped subsutural ramp, and broader, stronger, higher axial ribs, broader and more obvious on shoulder. These axial ribs are also less numerous, 6 or 7 on the last teleoconch whorl in C. grayi as opposed to 8 or 9 in C. elegantula n. sp. C. grayi also has a broader, less fusiform aperture with more obvious denticles. For differences with Cytharomorula absidata n. sp., C. arta n. sp. and C. fatuhivaensis n. sp. see the descriptions of these species herein. The Pleistocene specimens from Vanuatu were collected during an exploration in February 2006 of fossil sites as part of the SANTO 2006 Expedition (Lozouet et al. 2011). The fossil specimens come from the Kere 1 deposit (= Kere Shellbed of Mallik and Ladd). A well-preserved coral (Flabellum sp.) collected in this outcrop gave an age of 133000 year. (Lozouet et al., 2011) (see also Houart, 2013b).

Distribution. New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Futuna and Tonga, living at 100-505 m, but most living specimens were collected between 230 and 265 m.