Maximum shell length 6 cm, commonly to 4.5 cm. Attached to rocks in coral reef areas, or under stones on muddy bottoms. Littoral and sublittoral to a depth of 25 m. Collected for food in the philippines:shell used in local lime industy.widespred in the Indo-West Pacific, from East Africa, including Madagascar, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf to Melanesia; north to Japan and south New Caledonia.