The shell is small (maximum length 45 mm) and biconic. The spire is moderately high, consisting of six or seven shouldered postnuclear whorls and a protoconch of undetermined nature. The suture is weakly impressed. The body whorl is small and fusoid. The aperture is moderately small and ovate, with a small, shallow anal sulcus, this delimited parietally by a spiral ridge extending more deeply into the aperture. The outer apertural lip is nonerect and weakly dentate, its interior bearing elongate denticles. The columellar lip is slightly detached and barely erect. The siphonal canal is moderately long, tapering anteriorly, and bent to the left.
The body whorl bears three strong, broad, rounded varices, which are spinose only anteriorly and bent to the left. Other axial sculpture consists of a single broad, strongly developed costa in each intervarical space, almost completely occupying the space. Spiral sculpture consists of five strong, rounded cords on the body: one on the shoulder slope, one at the shoulder edge, one medial, and two more, closely spaced at the base of the body. There are also two cords on the canal. The entire surface of the shell is finely, spirally striate. Where the paired spirals at the base of the bodv and on the canal intersect the varices, moderately short, closed spines are developed.
Shell color is deep orange-red, suffused with red-brown on the spiral cords where they cross the axial sculptural elements.

Originally said to have been collected by Hugh Cuming "ad insulam Taheiten" (Tahiti Island); no live-collected specimens have come to our attention.