It is a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Batillariidae.

It is endemic to Australia, mainly along the east coast,[1][2] inhabiting mud flats.

[3] Other names formerly ascribed to the species have been Clava herculea (Martyn, 1784); Cerithium ebeninum (Bruguière, 1792); Pyrazus baudini (Montfort, 1810); Lampania angulifera (Sowerby, 1866); and Pyrazus herculea.

It had not been detected in the Port River in Adelaide, South Australia, since the last ice age, up to around 10,000 years ago, but in 2023, recent sightings there were confirmed by researcher Brad Martin.

Scientists surmise that they were seeded there by ballast water brought in by ships, and growing beds of razorfish (Pinna bicolor) beds and oyster reefs have provided nurseries for the whelk.