Diagnosis: Shell small, narrowly drilliiform; spire acuminate, manywhorled, with a channeled suture, and coarsely sculptured with heavy retractively aligned axial ribs and weaker over-riding spiral cords. Aperture narrow, ca. 40% the height of the shell; outer lip rather deeply dentate within; columella long, with a pair of somewhat deeply immersed ascending folds near the middle, the upper one the stronger; anal notch shallow, open, adnate to suture. Periostracum brown, scurfy, persistent.

Generitype: Diptychophlia occata (Hinds 1844), as of Berry 1964 (see below).

Discussion: In the molluscan section of the Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Sulphur (1844: 19, pl.6, f.10) Hinds described a small turrid as Clavatula occata. The description is unfortunately of the briefest and the figure too small to be of much real assistance to the inquiring student. I find no additional information of import nor any significant discussion of the species since that time. Recently a few specimens which Margaret Cunningham dredged in 15 to 30 fathoms just outside of Puerto San Carlos, appear to bring this long lost snail within our purview once again. Besides the original reference to Clavatula, a glance through the literature shows the species to have been dealt with under Pleurotoma, Defrancia, Mangelia, and perhaps other groups, with any and all of which it clearly has nothing whatever to do. I now proceed to the description of the specimens in hand in some detail. For despite the fact that the similarities noted are so strong as to leave little doubt of the identification, it must remain unproven until the original holotype once more came to light. The foundation of the new genus directly upon the present specimens will thus prevent its transfer upon purely technical grounds to where the fit might be less apt or non-existent.

Shell small, 10 mm., very slender, with a tall spire of rather loosely wound lightly convex whorls, and a long narrow body-whorl, tapered gradually to a relatively long, straight, spout-like, unnotched anterior canal. Adult sculpture of rather distant, strong vertical axial folds, extending from suture to suture and over most of the base, overridden by narrow sharply raised spiral cords. Sinus subsutural, broad and shallow. Columella with two distinct folds and occasionally an incipient third one. Colour light yellowish-brown.