Shell medium-sized, turriform, with moderately elevated spire, consisting of up to 5 convex teleoconch whorls. Last whorl high, 0.62-0.66 SL. Protoconch comparatively large, diameter ca 1200 µm, height ca 1000 µm, bulbous, consists of 1.5 whorls, covered with inconspicuous micropits. Suture narrow, deeply impressed. Subsutural ramp well pronounced, narrow, concave, delimitated on shoulder by row of sharp knobs formed by thickened axial ribs. Another row of knobs below suture. Axial sculpture, besides inconspicuous growth lines, of sharp, narrow, closely spaced, sinuous and nearly prosocline ribs, 15-20 on last whorl and 13-17 on penultimate one. Ribs usually less pronounced on ramp, running from suture to suture on spire whorls and becoming obsolete on shell base. Spiral sculpture of distinct, low, narrow cords, covering entire shell surface. Cords varying in size and irregularly spaced, more pronounced and broadly spaced on canal. On intersection with axial ribs cords become broader and form small rounded knobs. Aperture medium high, elongate oval, poorly differentiated from canal. Outer lip thin, concave adapically and convex and evenly rounded abapically. Columella nearly straight, smooth. Callus narrow, of thin transparent glaze overlying parietal region. Siphonal notch absent. Canal short, broad, curved abaxially. Shell colour off white. Periostracum indistinct and transparent. Operculum small, leaf-shaped, with terminal oval nucleus, strongly curved to left.

These collections represent the first time that Belomitra paschalis has been collected since its original description. It is common off southern Mozambique, more than 20 degrees south of the type locality. Bouchet and Waren (1986) were the first to allocate the species to Belomitra, but synonymized it with Belomitra pacifica (Dall, 1908). The large material accumulated in the last couple of decades demonstrates the separate specific status of B. paschalis, which is readily distinguished from any others in the western Indian Ocean by its small size (less than 15 mm, usually less than 10 mm) and characteristic, relatively short shell with strongly angulated shoulder and row of broadly spaced sharp knobs on shoulder. It has a slight resemblance only to Belomitra minutula n. sp., that differs from it by its even smaller size (shell attaining only 8.5 mm in length), and by having strongly unequal cusps on the lateral teeth (vs nearly equal cusps in B. paschalis).
A specimen of B. paschalis from MAINBAZA sta. CC3172 was slightly different from the others, being about 1.5 times larger and having more smooth axial ribs; it also lacks an operculum, although it is not clear whether it was not lost due to trauma. However, molecular analysis indicates that it is conspecific with other, more typical specimens from the same cruise, and its radula also does not differ significantly.

Type locality: Tanzania, Zanzibar Channel, 5°27'9"S, 39°18'8"E, 463 m [Valdivia, sta. 245].
Distribution: East Africa, from Zanzibar to Mozambique Channel, alive in 636-886 m, shells in 445-886 m