The shell is small (maximum length 45 mm) and essentially spindleshaped. The spire is high, consisting of two and one-half convex nuclear whorls and five angulate postnuclear whorls. The suture is impressed. The body whorl is small and fusoid. The aperture is broadly ovate, with a mod-erately deep anal sulcus, delimited by a strong, elongate tubercle on its parietal side. The outer apertural lip is erect and weakly, marginally crenulate. The columellar lip is barely erect above, detached and strongly erect below. The siphonal canal is arched to the left, dorsally recurved, and narrowly open.
The body whorl bears three spinose varices. Intervarical axial sculpture consists of two or three costae, these prominently nodulose where they intersect spiral sculptural elements. Spiral sculpture consists of numerous major and minor cords. The major cords occur at the shoulder margin and medially on the body. One minor cord and two finer threads occur between the two major cords. Three minor cords occur at the base of the body. Where the major cords intersect the varices, long, closed, straight spines are developed. The minor cord between the two majors gives rise to a short, ventrally bent spinelet, and the three minor cords at the base of the body each give rise to a fine, short, straight spinelet.
Our placement of this species and of M. cervicornis in Murex is based on the lack of spine-foliations and the overall Murex-like form of the body whorl.
Shell color is uniformly white, tan, or pink. The aperture is white.