The « Shuttle volva » is an unusual ovulid with both anterior and posterior siphonal canal elegantly and distinctly extended. Thanks to these it attains the largest size of all known recent ovulids, with an average shell length of around 100mm. and the very largest exceeding even 180mm.; though the size is quite variable among individuals. A carnivore and an ectoparasite of octocorals, it particularly favours members of the family Veretillidae as its host. Naturally it is associated with veretillid octocorals and often found living on them, in shallow to moderately deep sublittoral water around -10~200m in depth. It is a comm.on species with a very wide range across the Indo-West Pacific, it can be found from Eastern Africa to the southern half of Japan to Australia. Though the shell is easily recognisable, the siphonal canals are rather variable and may be strongly bent and the body whorl is sometimes weakly angulated. It should be easily separable from other recognised Volva species by its typically much longer siphonal canals.