The shell is moderately large (maximum length 90 mm) and broadly rhomboid. The spire is high, with eight weakly convex postnuclear whorls and a protoconch of undetermined nature. The suture is impressed. The body whorl is heavy and broadly fusoid. The aperture is ovate and moderately broad, with a narrow, deep, inverted-V-shaped anal sulcus, this delimited parietally by a strong spiral ridge. The outer apertural lip is erect, arising briefly from the last varix, and strongly dentate; the teeth extend into the aperture as strong lirations, and between the teeth the lip margin is minutely crenulate. The columellar lip is essentially completely adherent and bears, in addition to the strong ridge mentioned, a series of brief, moderately weak denticles in the parietal region. The siphonal canal is moderately short, anteriorly tapering, and distally recurved.
The body whorl bears three foliaceously ornamented varices. Additional axial sculpture con¬sists of a single, strong, nodose intervarical ridge. Spiral sculpture consists of major and minor cords and numerous fine threads. All spiral elements bear low, vaulted scales, these represented in mature specimens by minute tubercles. Where the major cords cross the varices, moderately well-developed foliaceous spines are present. On the body whorl the shoulder spine is the longest, the second spine the most strongly recurved. In all, four major spines are evident, these decreasing in length anteriorly. On the spire only the shoulder spine is retained. At the base of the body whorl there is a short spineless gap, followed by three smaller spines on the siphonal canal.
Shell color consists of alternating white and dark-brown bands, the white bands much broader. The apertural margin and the ventral portion and cavities of the varical spines are red-violet.

Also described in French (click French flag)

Pacific. Marquesas Islands, New Caledonia, Tuamotu Islands.