The shell has an ovate-conic or pyramidal shape. It is imperforate, smooth or spirally sculptured outside, brilliantly iridescent within. The colors are generally bright and variegated. The aperture is less than half the length of shell, longer than wide, ovate. The columella is usually more or less folded or toothed near the base.
The central tooth of the radula has a body with broadly expanded supporting wings, a narrowed peduncle or neck, which bears a simple cusp. This peduncle has on each side delicate wings. The lateral teeth number five on each side and ha ve as peculiarity that they increase in size from the inner to the outer one. The inner lateral is slender, narrowed toward the cusp, like the centrals, and (sometimes at any rate) bearing a lamella behind the peduncle. The outer laterals are very broad, with one or several denticles on the cusp. The only character separating Cantharidus from Gibbula is the simple cusp of the central tooth, whilst in Gibbula it is denticulate at the sides.
Distribution
This genus is composed of marine species with a wide distribution, occurring off Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, French Polynesia, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, New Caledonia, Oceania, East India, Africa.
Species
The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) includes the following species with valid names within the genus Cantharidus :
Cantharidus antipoda (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1854)
Cantharidus artizona A. Adams, 1851
Cantharidus bisbalteatus Pilsbry, 1901
Cantharidus bisculptus E.A. Smith
Cantharidus burchorum Marshall, 1998
Cantharidus caelatus Hutton, 1884
Cantharidus capillaceus (Philippi, 1848)
Cantharidus crenelliferus (Adams, 1853)
Cantharidus dilatatus (Sowerby II, 1870)
Cantharidus festivus (B. A. Marshall, 1998)
Cantharidus fournieri (Crosse, 1863)
Cantharidus fulminatus (Hutton, 1873)
Cantharidus fultoni (G. B. Sowerby III, 1890)
Cantharidus huttonii (E. A. Smith, 1876)
Cantharidus japonicus (A. Adams, 1853)
Cantharidus marmoreus Pease, W.H., 1868
Cantharidus mortenseni (Odhner, 1924)
Cantharidus nolfi Poppe, Tagaro & Dekker, 2006
Cantharidus opalus (Martyn, 1784)
Cantharidus pallidulus A. Adams, 1853
Cantharidus polychroma (A. Adams, 1853)
Cantharidus pulcherrimus (W. Wood, 1828)
Cantharidus purpureus (Gmelin,1791)
Cantharidus roseus (Hutton, 1873)
Cantharidus rufozona A. Adams, 1851
Cantharidus sanguineus (Gray, J.E. in Dieffenbach, 1843)
Cantharidus sendersi Poppe, Tagaro & Dekker, 2006
Cantharidus tenebrosus A. Adams, 1851
Cantharidus tessellatus (A. Adams, 1853)
Cantharidus turneri (Powell, 1939)
Cantharidus urbanus (Gould, 1861)
The Indo-Pacific Molluscan Database also mentions the following species with names in current use :
Cantharidus callichroa (Philippi, 1849)
Cantharidus infuscatus Gould, 1861
Cantharidus jessoensis Schrenck, L. von, 1863
Cantharidus pruninus Gould, 1849
Cantharidus vittata (Pilsbry, 1903)
Species and subspecies within the genus Cantharidus include:
Cantharidus cinguliger A. Adams, 1851
Cantharidus fumosus Dillwyn, 1817
Cantharidus iridis A. Adams, 1851
Cantharidus moniliger A. Adams, 1851
Cantharidus nigricans A. Adams, 1851
Cantharidus nitidulus A. Adams, 1851 (synonym: Trochus nitidulus Philippi)
Cantharidus punctulosus A. Adams, 1851
Cantharidus purpuratus A. Adams, 1851 (synonym: Trochus purpuratus Martyn)
Species brought into synonymy
Cantharidus artensis (P. Fischer, 1878): synonym of Trochus artensis P. Fischer, 1878
Cantharidus articularis A. Adams, 1851: synonym of Jujubinus interruptus (Wood, 1828)