The shell is very large (maximum length 300 mm) and massively fusiform. The spire is low, consisting of one and one-half nuclear whorls and nine strongly convex postnuclear whorls. The suture is impressed. The body whorl is large and in-flated. The aperture is large and broadly ovate, with a broad anal sulcus, this delimited parietally by a strong spiral ridge. The outer apertural lip is erect, projecting more or less strongly beyond the last varix, and strongly, coarsely dentate, bearing a large, triangular labial tooth anteriorly; the lip interior is briefly, weakly lirate. The columellar lip is adherent above, detached and weakly erect below. The siphonal canal is broad, moderately long, tapering anteriorly, distally recurved, and narrowly open at its extreme right side.
The body whorl bears three foliaceously ornamented varices. Additional axial sculpture con¬sists of one narrow major intervarical ridge and, generally, one or two minor ones. Spiral sculpture consists of broad, weak, spiral cords and fine, scabrous threads. Where the cords intersect the varices, strong, moderately long, distally foliated, closed spines are developed. The leading edge of each spine is filled with thin lamellae. The shoulder spine, the longest, is distally recurved Below this are four somewhat shorter, straighter spines of equal length. Two similar spines are developed on the canal. Smaller intercalating spinelets are bent ventrally. On the spire whorls only the long shoulder spine is retained.
Shell color is white, stained with pale rusty pink, the color strongest on the intervarical ridges and on the crests of the spiral threads. The apertural margin is suffused with light to medium red or red-orange, the color covering the entire columella and a narrower band at the edge of the interior of the outer lip.

Described in French (click French flag)

Generally throughout the entire Indo-West Pacific.