The size of the small, squat heavy shell varies between 15 mm and 47 mm. It contains slight nodules on the shoulders of whorls. The colour is light, mottled pinkish-blue with brown dots and blotches. The aperture is purple-brown. This marine species occurs in the Red Sea, in the Indian Ocean off Madagascar, Chagos, the Mascarene Basin and Aldabra; in the tropical Indo-West Pacific; off New Zealand and Australia (New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia). This species can be found in shallow water, often under boulders