Family TEREBRIDAE Mörch, 1852

Synonym: Acusidae Gray, 1853

Shell: Elongate or conical, multiwhorled, with very high spire and relatively small last whorl. Aperture small, with anterior siphonal notch, or very short straight siphonal canal. Anal sinus indistinct.

Anatomy: Operculum always present, horny, rounded or leaf-shaped, with terminal nucleus. Head with two very short close-set eye tentacles with eye situated near tip. Rhynchodaeal introvert always present, small to very large. Proboscis, radula, salivary glands, accessory salivary glands, venom gland and accessory proboscis structure present or absent. Radula, when present, composed of marginal teeth only, varying in shape from flat, solid and recurved, semi-enrolled or duplex, to hollow hypodermic.