Shells of Cypraea pantherina have been found in tombs in the Rhine valley dated to 6 BCE.

A blurred longitudinal reddish line runs along the midline where the two halves of the mantle meet in life.

The lower margins are rounded and the ventral side is white or whitish, with several long and fine teeth along the aperture.

In live animals the mantle is thin and quite transparent, with many longitudinal slight lines and numerous long and white sensorial papillae.

This species has also become established in the Mediterranean Sea (Lampedusa Island and Malta), probably having entered through the Suez Canal.