Shell rather thin, elongate-fusiform, turreted. Whorls ten. Sutures channeled. Colour pale buff, with rust dots between the peripheral nodules, and irregular rust streaks and splashes elsewhere. Sculpture: On the summit of each whorl is a collar of two strong spirals ; besides, the whole surface is over-run with fine, close, flat-topped spiral threads, amounting to about fifty-five on the last whorl; along the shoulder runs a row of upright tubercles, twice as high as broad, and more than their own breadth apart, twenty-two on the penultimate whorl, most distinct on the earlier whorls, and gradually fading till they almost disappear on the last whorl ; from these evanescent tubercles faint radials descend to the base; the trough of the deeply excavate fasciole is crossed by fine crescentic radial threads. Aperture: Lip thin, its edge not reflected, without internal lyrae; sinus wide and shallow; canal straight and produced. Length 26 mm., breadth 9 mm.

Shell 26-34 mm. (1-1,375 inches) in height, fusiform, with tall spire, 32-34°, and with a moderately long, slightly flexed, anterior canal. Spire about equal to or slightly greater than height of aperture plus canal. Whorls 14-14,5, including a small, smooth, erect, narrowly conic protoconch of 1,5 whorls. Sculpture: suture submargined by a strong fold consisting of two linear spaced spiral cords, followed by a deeply concave shoulder area, bearing 3-5 finely granulated spiral threads. Then a prominent blunt flange-like peripheral keel, bearing strong tubercles, 18-22 per whorl, and these are longer than broad. About 20 primary spirals on the base, all finely and closely granulated, and one, sometimes two, plain spiral threads in each interspace. Sinus deep, U-shaped, restricted by the prominent subsutural fold. Colour buff, with rust-red dots between the peripheral nodes and paler irregular streaks and splashes elsewhere.

Specimens of Pleurotoma tuberculata Gray (= Turricula nelliae spuria), from Bombay and Karachi, differ from T. granobalteus by more prominent sculpture, and especially by the beads on the base. According to Melvills figure the new species resembles P. nelliae, but differs in colour and the larger number of peripheral beads.

Range—Cape York to Broome, northern Australia.