Found on rocky reef and coast, often amongst algae, this snail is black in colour, with a flattened spire, often eroded and pearlescent at the spire. It is distinguished by its pattern of thin cream to yellow "dashes", arranged in a spiral. It is very similar to its relatives, Chlorodiloma adelaidae and Diloma concamerata, as well as Lunella undulata. However, the lines are radial in those species, aligned across the whorls, rather than with them, as is the case with C. odontis.
