Distribution: Temperate Northern Pacific realm. Warm Temperate Northwest Pacific province (Southeast Japan and East China Sea). Mainly an UPPER SLOPE species, recorded from 150-500 metres. Pliocene. Shimomata, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
RV 0571. Japan, Honshu, Kii. February 1979.
RV 2329. Japan, Shikoku, Kochi Prefecture, Tosa Bay. Scale bar is 1 cm.
RV 5478. Japan, Okinawa Prefecture, off Taisho Island, Ishigaki City, dredged, depth 300-500 m, 2016.
"Shell solid, subcylindrical, tapering above with summit pointed. Body-whorl almost twice as high as spire. The callus not only covers the spire, but on the back side of the shell also covers the upper portion of the body-whorl, occasionally sending long narrow processes down to the spiral sulcus, while on the front side it comes down to the sulcus as a broad belt covering the upper part of the inner lip. On this account the suture separating the body-whorl from the spire is hidden for two-thirds of its length under the callus. Spiral sulcus broad, with a deep oblique valley below, followed by several spiral folds. Aperture long, pointed above. Canal very short, notched behind. The only specimen we possess is 25 millim. in height and 9 millim. in diameter. The apertural length is 13 13 millim., while the height of the spire is 8.5 millim.'". Pliocene. Shimomata, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
The holotype UMUT CM 23364 appears to be missing (Ichikawa, 1983).
Description in Japanese. Recent.
Bieler & Petit (1990: 139) commented on the taxon, listing its history in the various versions of Kira's "Coloured illustrations of the shells of Japan". It's first valid description proved to be in the 1959 first printing of the 2nd edition of the work, where it was illustrated with a short description in Japanese.
"Olivid with a solid, elongated fusiform shell, with a remarkable depression around the last suture, with two brownish orange bands in sub-sutural, fasciolar and basal bands on grayish brown ground, with small protoconch and spire-sheath forming a false suture. Aperture narrow, and with operculum having terminal nucleus. Description: Shell elongate fusiform, with depression around last suture, with two brownish orange color bands in subsutural and fasciolar bands on grayish brown ground. Spire consists of protoconch and five spire-sheath forming false suture. Protoconch exposed, rather small, hemispherical, with nucleus hidden. Spire-sheath faded in color but partially tinted by brownish orange as same as subsutural band on upper margin. Subsutural band with remarkably deep depression indicating suture formed by primary callus developed from the columella pillar forming narrow and thick pad-like deposit which never exceeds posteriorly the margin of this band. Middle zone light brownish orange, with fine axial lines crossed by very fine spiral striae, delimited by the margin of subsutural band posteriorly and fasciolar band anteriorly, with a white band in front of fasciolar band and lacking ancillid band and labral denticle. Fasciolar band delimited by raised margin of basal zone, with microscopic granules. Basal zone narrow, dark brownish orange in color, delimited by a furrow came from twisted columela pilllar with 4-5 folds. Aperture narrow, pointed at posterior canal. Outer lip moderately thick, simple anteriorly, white inside, tinted brown color on the margin. Operculum sword-like in shape, with terminal nucleus. Radula with three cusps in the middle part of central tooth, with strongly curved basal plate. Measurements (mm): length 38.6; width 13.0; aperture length 22.4 mm.". Recent. Off Daiosaki Point, Shima Peninsula, Japan.
2 paratypes Ninomiya collection.
