The shell is moderately large (maximum length 115 mm) and fusiform The spire is high, consisting of nine convex postnuelear whorls and a protoconch of undetermined nature. The suture is impressed. The body whorl is moderate in size and fusoid. The aperture is broadly ovate, with an anal sulcus reinforced on both sides by a knobby ridge. The outer apertural lip is erect and finely dentate, with lirae extending into the aperture. The columellar lip is entirely adherent and bears numerous short, close-set, elongate denticles. The siphonal canal is long, moderately broad, are distally recurved. The body whorl bears three ornately foliaceous varices. Additional axial sculpture consists of three low ridges in each intervarical space. Spiral sculpture consists primarily of weak cords of various widths, and fine, scabrous striae. The body portion of the shell bears four moderately long, broad, foliose spines. The shoulder spine, the longest, is hollow, distally bifurcate, and recurved. Below it there are three somewhat shorter-spines. A wide gap divides the body spines from the three canal spines.
Shell color is ochre to light or dark brown, with the crests of the spiral elements darker. The apertural margin, including the spaces between the columellar denticles, is stained brown. In specimens from the vicinity of Sri Lanka, the interior of the frondose spines is suffused with lavender or violet. Specimens from other localities have brown-stained spines.

Sri Lanka to the Philippines and southwestern Japan.