Shell long and slender, the young shell forming several whorls in an almost cylindrical coil before they begin to enlarge. The adult shell may reach 6 inches in length. The surface is covered with fine spiral striae and a thin brown epidermis. The nucleus is large and blunt, the canal short, the form of the mouth variable in different stages and specimens; the outer lip is thin, the aperture dark purple within; the last whorl less than half the length of the shell in most cases. It is generally rude and more or less worn, even when living, the cylindrical tip usually broken off, but the polygonal horizontal section of the whorls is very characteristic. (Dall.)
TYPE in United States National Museum, No. 40979. Type locality, Point Barrow, Arctic.
RANGE. Point Barrow to Pribilof Islands, Alaska.