« Whorls about 11, rather flattened, the upper ones with longitudinal ribs, which soon become obsolete, distantly, lightly, spirally striated, a slight spiral rib on the base of the body whorl. » – G. W. Tryon: Manual of conchology, ser.1 vol. IX, Philadelphia 1887, p.80.

A. Adams describes a Mesalia plicata from Teneriffe: « testa subulato-turrita, rufo-fusca, anfractibus 12 convexiusculis, longitudinaliter plicatis, transversim sulcatis etc. » – A. Adams: “Description of two new genera and several new species of Mollusca, from the collection of Hugh Cuming, Esq.”, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London part 23, London 1855, p.123 via BHL. If the first whorls bear marked longitudinal plicae, the adult ones can show some of these, but uneven in strength and randomly scattered.