Shell large, fusiform, generally solid but variable in weight. Average adult size 187 mm (n = 20). Protoconch of two to three well-inflated whorls, smooth in first 1.5 whorls with axial ribs appearing thereafter: ribs of varying strength, crowded towards terminus of protoconch, final rib forming varix. Teleoconch of 13 well-inflated whorls with pronounced periphery from third or fourth onwards. Teleoconch bears strong spiral cords, 11 to 13 in number between sutures immediately above aperture; cords may be interspersed with further minor spiral threads, and may themselves be spirally striate. Axial sculpture on upper third of teleoconch consisting of strong ribs that span sutures; ribs becoming less prominent in lower two thirds, transforming into pronounced knobs with single strengthened cord at peripheral extreme; peripheral cord may thicken at summit of knobs to form lobes. Neck thick and regularly tapering in upper part, but distal third frequently recurved. Aperture ovate to slightly quadrate, with numerous spiral lirae on inner face of body whorl; lirae correspond in position to interstices of spiral cords on exterior, and are often bifurcate with staggered terminals. Labral margin of aperture in adults bears teeth of varying definition, corresponding in position to interstices of external spiral cords. Parietal callus thick and well produced in adult specimens, with characteristic reflexure at base of aperture. Columellar margin of siphonal canal detached and produced over entire length. Teleconch white, with occasional pale brown staining of uppermost 3-5 whorls; staining sometimes persists to lower teleoconch, but confined to axial knobs. Aperture porcellaneous, white, with occasional very pale brown staining of margins in adult specimens. Periostracum thin and pale brown, with numerous fine corneous thorns arranged in axial rows.

Fusinus salisburyi has been treated by many recent authors as a subspecies or synonym of F forceps. Comparison even of the limited set of characters used here, however, reveals consistent differences between the two. In F salisburyi. the parietal margin of the adult aperture is constricted and the shield is reflexed at the entrance to the siphonal canal, forming the "pseudoumbilicus" mentioned by Fulton, a feature found in no other species examined here. From F forceps it may be further distinguished by its greater average size and thinner construction, as well as by the transformation in the penultimate and body whorls of its axial sculpture from smooth, pronounced ribs to a series of prominent peripheral knobs that bear at their summit a strengthened cord. In central Japan F. salisburyi can normally be distinguished from F. perplexus by its larger adult size (186 mm. average of 10 specimens in ANSP) and heavier construction, though in the East China Sea F. perplexus attains similar sizes. In addition, however, the spiral cords of F salisburyi are more numerous and pronounced, and their troughs are deeper. The parietal shield is thicker and the labral dentition more pronounced. F. perplexus may be further distinguished from F. salisburyi by the more pronounced recurvature of its somewhat slimmer neck, and by the tendency of its early axial ribs to transform in the middle teleoconch into knobs that bear a somewhat pronounced peripheral cord and then become obsolete on the penultimate and body whorls, both of which are often smooth and rounded in profile with little or no definition of the periphery.
In common with some other species in the genus such as F perplexus and F stannum (Callomon & Snyder, 2008a: fig. 5) occasional adult specimens of F. salisburyi bear little or no axial sculpture after the first few whorls. In F. salisburyi, this phenotype has been seen from Japan and several localities in the Philippines. Large examples of this form can superficially resemble the rare Philippine species F. nobilis, but that species lacks the detached, recurved parietal margin and heavily indented sutures that characterize F. salisburyi.
A further variant, commonly seen from the Visayas region of the central Philippines, has somewhat stronger spiral sculpture than usual and often extensive brown staining, principally on the axial ribs but extending over most of the teleoconch.
Average adult size varies slightly between populations, ranging from 160.3 mm SL in Japan (n = 15) to 198.8 mm SL in Australia (n = 17) and 203.1 mm SL in the Philippines (n = 15). Though some Philippine records cite depths as shallow as ten meters for this species, the majority of records span a range between 80 and 200 m. with the deepest record being 400 m. As with all figures from commercial fishing operations, however, the absolute accuracy of these data is not assured.
At the southern end of the range of F salisburyi. Wilson (1994: 69) suggested that F genticus (Iredale. 1936) from New Zealand might be a synonym of it. Although there are similarities between the two species, F. genticus can be distinguished by the lack of the "pseudoumbilicus". In comparison with F. similis, F. genticus differs by its broader, more inflated body whorl and by the smaller, sharper and more numerous knobs on its periphery. Sec Callomon & Snyder (2006: figs 25-27).

Fusinus salisburyi is known from a large area, reaching from central Japan and the East China Sea through the Philippines to Australia, and in the South China Sea at least as far west as Vietnam. Examination of the present material has revealed a broader range of variation in sculpture than was previously known, but Fulton's distinctive "pseudoumbilicus" is present from the early stages of growth. It can be seen in the juvenile specimens shown here of 11 whorls from Townsville, Queensland, nine whorls from the South China Sea and nine whorls from the Kii Peninsula in Japan.