Because the shell of this sea snail is attractive, and is common in San Diego, the name The Festivus was used for the San Diego Shell Club publication, which was started in 1970, became a science journal on malacology, and as of 2021 has been published for over 50 years.

The oval aperture shows a varix extending to the short, deep and recurved siphonal canal.

The ground color of the shell varies from white to light brown, crossed by evenly spaced, thin, incised, spiral dark brown lines It is a formidable predator on mussels, limpets, barnacles and other snails.

But through this biotic characteristic, it is responsible for resistance to the Asian mussel (Musculista senhousia) invasion in Southern California.

[3] This marine species occurs abundantly in the intertidal zone and mud flats off Southern California, USA (with most records from Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and San Diego) to Baja California, Mexico