Loxotaphrus deshayesii: Shell biconical, with a spire height about one third of total shell height. Dimensions (ignoring the Duval 1841 measurements which cannot be verified now): up to 28.9 x 18.3 mm (AMNH 269195). Protoconch smooth, pale fawn, paucispiral with up to 1 3/8 rounded whorls; maximum diameter 1.3-1.4 mm, exposed height 1.1-1.5 mm. Transition to teleoconch clearly marked. A well preserved shell (AV 0015) shows one smooth whorl, ended by a narrow orthocline line, then follows 3/8 rounded whorl showing smooth spiral lines and some axial growth lines. Then the teleoconch starts abruptly with its carinated whorl and clearly marked sculpture.
Teleoconch with 5 1/2 keeled whorls; the sutures are placed slightly lower than the carina of the pre-ceding whorl. Sutural plane sloping well downward towards the periphery. Axial sculpture consists of 17 non-collabral axial ribs on lst-2nd whorl, 20 on 3rd and 21 on last two whorls; they are well marked on the early whorls, rather faint on the younger whorls, but clearly marked when crossing the periphery of the whorls. Spiral sculpture: seven broad spiral bands, with four microscopic lines in between.
Aperture elongate, ending in a rather long, recurved siphonal canal. Outer lip thickened into a varix, with 7-11 broad short rounded lirae, and a posterior notch. Columellar callus white; no columellar folds, at most some coarse granulations on the ventral part of the callus. A rather strong tooth occurs near the posterior end of the columellar side. A narrow umbilical chink is present.
Shell AMNH 269195 has a colour pattern of brown points and blotches, sometimes V-shaped and pointing spirally in the direction of the aperture.

Loxotaphrus deshayesii: Species more or less closely related to L. deshayesii are: L. subtaurinensis (Vergneau, 1965), Rupelian, Lower Oligocene of SW France; L. aturensis (Peyrot, 1926), Chattian, Upper Oligocene of SW France; andZ. taurinensis (Bellardi, 1872), Middle Miocene of Italy (Beu & Maxwell 1987: 48-50). The still older Varicohilda turriculata Newton, 1922, of the middle Eocene of Nigeria, is also rather similar but has strong columellar folds. Beu & Maxwell (1987: 23) distinguish Loxotaphrus from Varicohilda by the former s lack of columellar plaits, and its paucispiral protoconch (the latter is not considered a generic character by the present author).

Loxotaphrus deshayesii: Senegal, Guinea, Ivory Coast (Beu & Maxwell 1987: 49), between 32 and 120 m.

Loxotaphrus deshayesii: Beu & Maxwell (1987:49) considered this species as one of the rarest recent West African gastropods in collections. Some years ago, the late Senegal-based dealer M. Pin obtained about 30 shells from an unspecified research vessel (G. Poppe pers. comm.), so that now this species is present in many institu-tional and private collections.