The main differences between the supposedly distinct species Galeodea alcocki and G. nipponica are the taller spire and the more sharply contracted base of G alcocki and its unique, narrowly channelled suture, but the spiral sculpture also is weaker, smoother and less regular in G alcocki, and G alcocki lacks the small, sharp peripheral nodules present on most specimens of G. nipponica. Most specimens identified as G nipponica, particularly young ones, also have one to several lower rows of small, sharp nodules below the peripheral one, although these fade out down the shell in most large specimens. However, a few specimens have no nodules at all. Synonymized as G. alcocki in WoRMs.