Infralittoral and circalittoral. Feeds on sponges.
The shell is perfectly conical. Teleoconch of about 10 whorls separated frome ach other by a deep suture. Spiral sculpture made up of 2 cords on the whorls 1-3, and of 3 from the fouth whorl, this additional cord appearing adapically. « The cords are approximately of equal width as the interspaces, with smooth and rather flat tubercles that are aligned axially to form ribs. The last whorl diminishes sharply in width by its base and exhibits an additional rather smooth cord in prolongation of the suture. In the proximity of that cord there is a smoother one preceeding a concave area before a short siphonal canal. Light honey color all over the shell including the protoconch. » – Manousis & Galinou-Mitsoudi: “New gastropod records for the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and one new alien ( Emarginula decorata Deshayes, 1863) for the Mediterranean Sea from NW Aegean Sea, Greece”, Journal of Biological Research-Thessaloniki vol. 21(10), november 2014, p.13.
Above and below: 33m deep, Punta de la Mona, La Herradura, Granada, Andalucia, S. Spain. 6mm. Original pictures provided by A. Nappo (IT) – (CC BY-NC-SA).
« The pointed protoconch is formed by four moderately convex whorls, the first of which bears only very fine spiral striae that extent to the rest three whorls. In addition to that sculptural decoration, these late three whorls are decorated with numerous, somewhat curved, fine axial ribs that extend from suture to suture and are interrupted by a carina which bears a thin spiral cord up to the end of the protoconch. » – Ibid.
The species was previously discovered by R. B. Watson in Madeira, but this is Monterosato who described it for the first time. « I had already baptized it for some time in my collection; but, to please my friend, the Rev. Robert Boog Watson, who also discovered the species in Madeira, I decided to keep the name given by him. » – T. A. di Monterosato: “Recherches conchyliologiques, effectuées au Cap Santo Vito, en Sicile”, Journal de Conchyliologie vol. 22(3), p. 273-274.
Above: the species in J. G. Jeffreys: “On the Mollusca of the ‘Lightning’ and ‘Porcupine’ expeditions”, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London for the year 1885, London 1885, plate VI fig.8-8a.