Common name : harp shells

Aspect : ovate, with a high spire and broad body whorl; size 30–100 mm; distinctive axial varices (thickened growth ridges) aligned in a harp-like pattern; Highly glossy, sculptured with strong, raised axial ribs (varices) that form ladder-like or string patterns; creamy white, pale brown, or pinkish colors often with brown bands or blotches on varices; long aperture with a thick outer lip reinforced by the last varix; inner lip smooth, often with a glossy callus; operculum

Feeding : carnivorous (porcellanid crabs, amphipods, shrimps, polychaetes or small mollusks)

Environment : Indo-West Pacific (primary diversity center) East Africa to Hawaii, Japan to Australia (absent from Atlantic and Eastern Pacific); in sandy or muddy-sand substrates in subtidal zones associated with coral rubble, seagrass patches, or sponge communities; 5–100 m depth