Type locality: Japan, Hokkaido, off Kushiro, 200-300 m. Description: Shell large (usually between 108.0 and 150.0 mm, 79.6 mm), thick, solid, heavy. Shape rather broad, base elongated, aperture large. Subsutural slope straigh, broad. Colour reddish brown to vivid red with darker spiral cords and darker axial streaks. Occasionally with white interrupted lines on top of spiral sculpture and white axial streaks. Tip decollate in all studied specimens, about 6 teleoconch whorls remaining. Upper spire whorls with strong spiral keel on periphery, suture deep. Penultimate whorl with 2 strong keels (primary spiral cords). Body whorl with about 6 primary spiral cords. Primary spiral cords with rather triangular profile. Adapical interspaces broad, slightly narrower towards base, interspaces with 1 broad but low secondary spiral cord centrally and numerous fine additional secondary spiral lines in between. Axial sculpture consisting of fine, slightly twisted incremental lines. Aperture semi-oval. Columella twisted, rather smooth, occasionally wavy according to sculpture of preceding whorl. Callus thin, glossy, white. Outer lip thick, slightly angular when following shape of spiral sculpture. Siphonal canal short, broad, open. Range and habitat: Neptunea hedychra n. sp. lives off the Pacific coast of north Japan and Russia and in the southern Sea of Okhotsk and is known from northern Hokkaido (off Mombetsu, off Abashiri and off Cape Shiretoko), off eastern Hokkaido (off Kushiro and off Nemuro), off eastern Kamchatka Peninsula (Gulf of Kronotsky). The record from the Russian coast of the Sea of Japan (Posjet Bay) still need confirmation. Bathymetric range between 150 and 300 m. Living on muddy bottom. Sympatrically with Neptunea lyrata off north Hokkaido. Sympatrically with Neptunea aurigena aurigena n. sp. off Kushiro, of which paratypes 6-10 were trawled together with the holotype of this new species. Comparison: Neptunea hedychra n. sp. has a characteristically reddish pattern with dominant, alternating dark and pale (or white) axial streaks. The spiral sculpture has a quite triangular profile. The subsutural slope is broad. Neptunea lyrata is similar in sculpture but differs in having broad and flattened primary spiral cords in the west Pacific, a slightly narrower and more perpendicularly oriented subsutural slope, interspaces usually smooth or covered by fine secondary spiral cords, straight incremental lines and a convex base. Etymology: Neptunea hedychra n. sp. is derived from hedychrum (Latin, neuter) meaning "perfume", which refers to the beautiful colour with red hue, similar to some flowers from which perfume is made. It also refers to the taxonomic past of this species, of which many scientists and collectors could "smell" that it is a distinct species when referring to it as vinosa or "cf. lyrata".