Shell: moderately small to medium, solid, Ovate to elongovate, ranging from 26-46 mm.
Spire obscured. Teeth: 15 to 17 columellar teeth; 13 to 16 labral teeth.
Sculpture: smooth, porcelaneous.
Exterior colour blue grey overlaid with diffuse tan blotches; base fawn; teeth stained with orange; margins high, fawn with diffuse mauve spots; Mantle line distinct.
Specimens
Subspecies: Ovatipsa chinensis amiges (Melvill & Standen, 1915) Shag Rock, Australia Size: mm Collected: 1999 found under a small flat rock in 10 meters of water next to a wobbegong shark, specimen is fully grown, but small and perfect and has different shape to other C. chinensis
forma: whitworthi Cate, 1964 This form from Western Australian is more inflated and calloused. Shark Bay, Australia Size: 38.45mm Collected: Unknown Under dead coral slabs and in red sponges. Collected by diver.
forma: sydneyensis Schilder & Schilder, 1938 This form is larger, more elongate with swollen labral teeth. Bass Point, Australia Size: 36.68mm Collected: Unknown Collected on rocky reef at low tide.
Direction Island, Australia Size: 32.25mm Collected: Unknown Under coral slab on hard bottom in reef channel at 32-5m depth.
Marau Sound, Solomon Islands Size: 40.18mm Collected: Unknown On wall of cave at night from 15-20m depth. Collected by diver.
Local Island reef, Papua New Guinea Size: mm Collected: 1984 found on coral reef under a rock in 1m of water animal was brilliant red with a fillimentatious mantel
Bali, Indonesia Size: 39mm Collected: Unknown No data.
Kangean Island, Indonesia Size: 24.68mm Collected: Unknown No data.
Cebu, Philippines Size: 36.16mm Collected: Unknown Collected by diver.
Subspecies: Ovatipsa chinensis somaliana (Lorenz, 1989) Dahlak, Eritrea Size: 30.76mm Collected: 1985 No data
Subspecies: Ovatipsa chinensis somaliana (Lorenz, 1989) Tanzania [unspecified], Tanzania Size: mm Collected: 1985 juvenile swapped
Kona Coast, United States of America Size: 26.14mm Collected: Unknown Under dead coral slabs on rubble slope at 5-8m depth.
Mozambique Island, Mozambique Size: 46mm Collected: Unknown No data.
Subspecies: Ovatipsa chinensis violacea (Rous, 1905) Chumbe Island, Tanzania Size: 28.37mm Collected: Unknown On exposed reef at low tide.
Madagascar, Madagascar Size: 36mm Collected: Unknown No data.
Antsiranana, Madagascar Size: 33.08mm Collected: 1966 No data
Papeete, French Polynesia Size: 35.92mm Collected: Unknown Under hard coral blocks on shallow reef in heavy surf at 1-2m depth. Rare from this location.
Amity Point, Australia Size: mm Collected: 2017 forma: amiges Collected by diver. Courtesy D Preston.
Fingle Head, Australia Size: mm Collected: forma: amiges Collected by diver. Courtesy D Preston.
