The species is endemic throughout northern California, forming burrows out of silk, dirt, and sand, from which it attacks prey.

This spider is identified by its dark red to red-brown coloration with a stripped or chevron patterned abdomen.

[1] The species was first described by Jason Bond, director of the Auburn University Museum of Natural History, in December 2012.

[2] Females differ from the males in that their carapace, legs, and chelicerae tend to be a red-brown color and their abdomen has a mottled chevron pattern.

Females have a spermathecal bulb located along the medial auxiliary segment, unlike other members of the genus.

[2] A. barackobamai burrows underground for shelter, making waterproof 'trapdoor' structures out of soil, sand, and webbing.

[7] Aptostichus barackobamai is a species endemic to California,[8] and has been observed at several locations in the northern part of the state.

Geographically, these include the Mayacamas Mountains, the Sutter Buttes, parts of the California Floristic Province, and the northernmost ridges of the Central Valley.

While no specimen have been found yet to corroborate a wider distribution, predictions by Jason Bond estimate that the species likely inhabits the majority of the Central Valley and its eastern mountain ranges.

Jason Bond, during his initial description of the species, postulated that some isolated populations (such as those local to the Sutter Buttes) may be threatened.