Diagnosis. "Shell similar to Nassarina except that the embryonic shell is conic, of 2.5-3 smooth, convex whorls, the initial whorl small. No distinctly contracted anterior canal. Lip with a distinct anal sinus. Sculpture of coarse axial ribs overridden by spiral cords. The operculum is unguiculate [like a toenail?] with apical (basal) nucleus" (Pilsbry & Lowe 1932: 75).
Remarks. Zanassarina was originally described as a subgenus of Nassarina Dall, 1889, and is also similar to Cigclirina Woodring, 1928. Species in these genera are generally small, 4—8 mm long, high spired, with moderately rounded whorls, simple adentate apertures and a combination of spiral ridges and well-developed axial ribs. Zanassarina in particular was distinguished for its multiwhorled protoconch (not in itself an informative character in columbellids as protoconch type varies within otherwise well-delimited genera) and less constricted aperture than in Nassarina. The species listed here also share a lack of labial or columellar denticles, which are typically present in most columbellids, including species of Nassarina and Cigclirina, There are a number of species in these and similar genera, which given their fairly general characteristics, will likely require molecular research to sort out.