(Reeve, 1844)
Description (shell):
Shell elongate, slender, with eight or nine tumid whorls; sutures deep, straight, with broad, slightly concave subsutural band marked by low crescentic ridges. Sculpture of strong, cord-like spiral striae and fine growth lines; striae often alternately large and small, absent from subsutural band. Protoconch of up to six whorls, with diamond-shaped reticulation. Aperture oval, drawn out basally into short, open siphonal canal deflected to left. Anal sinus deep, narrow, crescentic terminally, set within subsutural band. Outer lip thin, crenulate; often damaged so that anal sinus appears short. Columella slightly sinuous.
Size:
Up to 16 x 6 mm, commonly less.
Colour:
White, often with reddish-brown blotches.
Animal:
Cephalic tentacles long, blunt, with eyes near base. Foot double-edged anteriorly, with anterio-lateral projections; no operculum.
Habitat:
Sublittoral, on sandy bottoms from 30-900 m.
Distribution:
Distributed from Mediterranean to Norway; absent from southern North Sea and east Channel (Distr. T. teres).