Shell medium size, dark brown, whorls 10,5; nucleus flat-topped, of 2,5shiny whorls; the first 1,5 smooth, the next with about 11 oblique riblets that disappear at the beginning of the succeeding whorl; arising on the first postnuclear whorl is a strong suprasutural, sharply nodose, yellow-gold, spiral carina, which on later whorls migrates to the center of the whorl; this terminates at the edge of the outer lip abapical to the anal notch; a second weaker, subsutural, undulating carina also commences on the first postnuclear whorl, which is dark brown but gradually becomes golden; it ends at the anal callus; on the antepenultimate whorl a third somewhat nodular golden carina appears just above the suture; this terminates in the outer lip just abapical to the strongly nodose carina; on the body whorl there are 10 golden smooth or nodose bands, including the 3 previously described; the nodes of the primary carina are arranged in axial rows with 9 on the penult and 10 on the body whorl; numerous fine spiral threads and even finer intersecting growth lines fill the spaces between the carinae; the suture is a shallow undulating groove; aperture elongately oval, smooth, brown, shading to gray in the throat; outer lip coarsely crenulate; columella smooth; anterior canal short, open, slightly recurved; anal notch with a strong callus that partially constricts the opening. Dimensions of holotype: height 20.9 mm, diameter 8.1 mm. Type Locality: Holotype and 44 paratypes collected at low tide, Venado Island and adjacent Veracruz Beach, Panama, 8°53' N, 79°36'W. Leg. Donald Shasky, December 3, 1967; Donald Shasky and James McLean, March 8-11,1970.
Zonulispira chrysochildosa resembles Z. grandimaculata (C. B. Adams, 1852) and Z. zonulata (Reeve, 1843), but is broader than either and all the spiral cords of the base are slightly marked, rather than only the peripheral and one basal cord. It is evidently common at Panama at present. Surprisingly, the only specimens found in old collections are the 2 USNM lots mentioned above. The name is derived from the Greek words, chrysos— gold, and childosis—ornamentation.