Type locality: Saba Bank, West Indies, Caribbean. Range: Known only from the type locality.
Habitat: From deep water at 150 m. All the specimens known have been fished crabbed.

Description: Shell fusiform, solid, with a glossy surface. Adult size of 63 mm (holotype). Protoconch small, smooth of 2.3 whorls with a mean diameter of 1.5 mm.
Spire is moderately high. Teleoconch of 6 very convex whorls. Sculpture of thin axial ribs, 24-26 on the penultimate whorl, crossed by very faint revolving lirae on the base of the anterior canal. Suture chanelled, coronated by adapical end of axial ribs. Aperture semi-lunar.
Columella arched bearing three strong anterior plaits followed by 10-12 regularly spaced smaller plaits, with some fine lirae in between. Outer lip thickened, smooth on the single adult specimen examined. Siphonal notch is narrow and shallow. Background colour is light beige, marked with a subsutural band of brown blotches and spiral darker bands on the mid and on the anterior part of the body whorl. Pattern of fine spiral rows of black dots on the summit of the ribs. Animal: Not available for study, all specimens being fished crabbed.

Comparison: First pointed out by Pointier in 1985 as different, the specimens of Lyria dredged from the Saba Bank are very close to Lyria beaui and were first described at subspecies rank by Bail (1993). Later the collection of many specimens of L. beaui, allowed us to outline the specific characters of the Saba-population, which showed it deserved of a new rank.
Although of identical size, shape and colour, it is distinguishable from beaui beaui by:
a higher protoconch of 2.3 whorls instead of 1.7 for beaui beaui; a greater number of axial ribs, 24-26 on the penultimate whorl (15-16 for typical L. beaui), with anterior spiral cords being obsolete; a channeled and coronated suture; a pattern of spiral dots on the ribs;
the columellar plaits are situated more internally, and no labial serrations are visible on the unique undamaged adult specimen found.
Remarks: The conchological differences appear to be sufficient to give this population an obvious singularity. However, though the geographical structure of Saba Bank is supposed to go well with a certain endemism, the small number of specimens (a fragment, a juvenile and one undamaged adult, all dead collected) does not permit a definitive conclusion at the present time.