Olivella
"Spire of the shell lengthened, conic, the tip acute: inner lip not thickened, outer lip straight: base of the pillar curved inwards, and marked by 2 strong plaits; upper plaits evanescent, or entirely wanting. Aperture effuse, and closed by an operculum.".
Type species by subsequent designation (Dall, 1909: 31): Oliva purpurata Swainson, 1831 [= Voluta dama Wood, 1828].
Although the type designation is usually attributed to Dall (1909), Cossmann's (1889: 210) designation of Voluta jaspidea Gmelin, 1791, predates it by 20 years. If accepted as such, stability of nomenclature would be seriously compromised. However, Voluta jaspidea Gmelin, 1791, was not mentioned amongst the species discussed by Swainson.
Formerly, the genus has been divided into a number of subgenera mainly based on Olsson's (1956) work. All of these are here teated as full genera.