This very colorful species is the type species for Scabricola. It is a wide mitrid (W/L = 0.39) . Spire sides are slightly convex with about 7 teleoconch whorls. Sutures are prominent due to a fairly wide, concave shoulder. The dorsal notch is moderate. The penultimate whorl has 5 spiral cords separated by a spiral groove. In side view the cords are convex on the adapical end then almost straight and slanting adaxially to the cord interstice. There are very low, convex, axial riblets that cross cords and their interstices seen in magnification. Spiral cords continue on the base to the fasciole which is convex with about 3 narrower spiral cords ending at a depression outside the columellar callus. The outer lip is slightly convex, becoming more convex at the anterior tip. The columella is straight with 4 significant spiral folds. The shell exterior is white with black, axial, zigzag lines. To the left of the black lines is a brown blotch on the anterior half of whorls. There is wide brown spiral band at the periphery with the black lines crossing it. The interior of the aperture is tan-orange. The radula of the type species Scabricola variegata (Gmelin, 1791) consists of a central rachidian plate with 10 paired cusps. This is reminiscent of Neocancilla species. However, the lateral rachidian plates are much reduced in the Scabricola having a claw-shaped with only one to 4 cusps, one of the cusps being greatly enlarged. The relationship to Neocancilla is quite confusing; in Neocancilla waikikiensis the only difference in radula pattern is the lack of a greatly enlarged cusp on the lateral rachidian.