Spindle-shape aptly describes the elegant  shells   of most  of the species in this extensive group. All are elongate, with a many-whorled spire, a straight, long siphonal canal, and a smooth columella. Ornamental features include strong tubercles and vertical folds; spiral ribs, and spiral ridges inside the aperture. A few species are long, thick, and heavy. Some have a left-handed spiral. All have a corneous operculum with a nucleus at one end. The carnivorous animals live in warm seas among rocks and coral debris.