[1] It was described by the British malacologist Guy Coburn Robson in 1926, the type specimens having been collected in the Gulf of Mannar, off Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, southeastern India.

The radula has 9 elements, 7 teeth rows and marginal plates and the rachidian tooth has a single lateral cusp in a symmetrical series.

The terminal organ is linear and the diverticulum is simple in form with a slightly swollen shape.

[2] Macrochlaena winckworthi was originally collected from pearl oyster beds in shallow water off the coast of Tamil Nadu in the Gulf of Mannar.

[3] It has also been collected off Java and it has been inferred that its distribution extends from India east to the Malay Archipelago in shallow waters of less than 20m in depth.