Large whelk that can easily be mistaken for Pleuroploca australasiae, but has a cream rather than red foot and lacks folds on the columella. The shape of the shell is quite variable, causing P. mandarinus to be given a variety of names in the past. The species is common only in the southernmost part of its range and is most often seen by divers on soft sediment beside reef. It is a voracious predator of molluscs.

• Max Size: 18 cm
• Sea Temperature Range: 9.6-21.0°C
• Depth: 0-600m
• Habitat: Coral Reef, Rocky Reef, Soft sediment

• IUCN Threat Status: Not Evaluated
• Occurrence: Frequent (10% of sites)
  Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
• Abundance: Solitary (1 per transect)
  Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.