Shell with rounded but slightly shouldered whorls, with a coarse cancellated sculpture, spire prominent; dimensions up to 46.4 x 30.0 mm. Shell white with brown bands: one near the periphery of the whorls; on the last whorl: another on the anterior part, and sometimes a third near the suture.
Protoconch brown, transparent, multispiral with 3-3 1/4 rounded naticoid whorls. Measurements: maximum diameter: x = 1.58 mm (o = 0.08, n = 10), exposed height: x = 1.12 mm (a = 0.11, n = 10). Nucleus small, max. diameter: x = 0.26 mm (o = 0.02, n = 10), transparent pale brown. Sculpture: on the nucleus (3/4 whorl): microscopic nodules; then about two whorls with two sets of non-collabral ribs crossing each other, forming a neat cancellated sculpture oblique to the shell axis; followed by about 1/2 whorl with little sculpture: a few zigzag lines from the cancellated sculpture may continue into this area; and sometimes 4-6 rather strong spiral bands may gradually increase in strength, as predecessors of the teleoconch spiral sculpture. Transition to teleoconch sculpture is very clear.
Teleoconch with up to seven whorls, with a prominent cancellated sculpture of broad rounded axial ribs and narrow, well defined spiral cords cross¬ing over the axial ribs. This cancellated sculpture is already clearly present on the first half whorl of teleoconch. The horizontal rectangular areas delimited by these cancellations only have a fine microsculpture of growth-lines, crossing over the spiral cords. An intritacalx of short thin white lamellae, consisting of a soft material wearing off very easily, is formed along these growth-lines.
Axial ribs: 9-13, 10-13, 10-11, 10-12, 11-12 and 12-13 on whorls 1-6 respectively. Spiral cords: 4, 4-5,4-6,4-6 and 5 on 1st to 5th whorl respectively. Width of spirals gradually increasing from 0.2 to 0.5 mm. A secondary spiral may occur on anterior part of the last whorl. Thickened varices may be present on the younger whorls. Sutures well impressed, whorls rounded, some-times slightly shouldered. Aperture white, oval, pointed towards both ends. Outer lip crenulated, with a "stromboid notch" on the basal lip between the two brown bands; 8-12 strong lirae, 13 in very large shells; and a narrow posterior canal. White translucent callus covering columellar side, and partly reflected over the umbilical slit. Columella with three folds: anterior one small, central fold with square-cut profile, and posterior one strongest and rather sharp. Siphonal fasciole well developed, often incorporating the earlier siphonal canal pointing away from the aperture. Siphonal canal present, often relatively long, and slightly reflected abaxially. Umbilicus: a narrow slit, half covered by reflected callus.

Widely distributed and locally common along the West-African coast (including the Cape Verde), Canary, Sao Tome and Principe islands; but not Madeira; from Morocco south to Angola ; rather common in the Alboran Sea.
Mediterranean: off eastern Spain, French coast, Baleares, Corsica, Sardinia; becoming rarer eastward, Sicily, Crete, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel and Syria.