The shell is narrowly truncate, fusiform, dull brown clouded with white. Five convex whorls joined by deep sutures remain in the type. Axial sculpture of narrow, rounded ribs about equal to their intervals, with fine wrinkling over ribs and intervals. Over them run more prominent spiral cords, flattened on top, six on the penult, twenty on the last whorl, including the smaller ones on the siphonal fasciole. Aperture oval, the outer lip lirate within, externally strengthened by a varix, a little calloused where the aperture passes into the narrow, deep canal, which is slightly recurved. Columella with raised outer edge, smooth except for about three very oblique folds within the edge, corresponding to underlying spiral cords, a tubercle near the posterior angle, another at the origin of the anterior canal. Siphonal fasciole weakly marked. A specimen in the Lowe collection retains the spire complete. There are three embryonic whorls, at first rounded, the last one angular in the middle, with fine axial costulation. As it is somewhat worn, there may be more sculpture than is apparent. This specimen measures: length 20 mm., diam. 7 mm.; 10 whorls in all. Length 18.8 mm., diam., 7.3 mm.
This species is related to the Cocos Island form Pilsbry and Vanatta identified as Tritonidca cinis (Reeve), but that identification was apparently erroneous.