Shell when young closely coiled for the first six or eight whorls; these whorls are smooth and have a sharp, pinched-up carina below the center; the later whorls become uncoiled and irregular, the sculpture consisting of threads and ridges which are nearly parallel with the direction of the shell. Color brownish or purplish brown.
The species sometimes attains a length of 15 cm. and a diameter at the aperture of 12 or 14 mm.

Vermicularia spirata (Philippi, 1836) West Indian Wormsnail
Distribution: Florida, Texas; West Indies; Bermuda.
Size: Apex about 6 mm; apex and wormlike teleoconch about 90 mm . Description: Color of apex grayish, teleoconch brownish-gray; shell shape irregular, apex conic; teleoconch wormlike, turreted; apex acute with alternating narrow spiral cords below the suture and larger spiral cords just above the suture in each apical whorl; teleoconch whorls detached and appear wormlike; with spiral cords; wavy axial growth lines on latter whorls; aperture subcircular, thin lipped; operculum closes aperture and round in fresh specimens.
Habitat: In Texas found partially embedded in sponges and attached to the tree coral Oculina. Depth range 3 to 80 m (10 to 262 ft).
Remarks: Similar to V. knorrii; however, spiral cords are more numerous and smaller on V spirata. See Ode and Speers (1971b); Andrews (1977); Rehder (1981).