Ariocarpus scaphirostris grows geophytically with dark green to brown bodies, 4 to 9 centimeters in diameter, with only the warts protruding from the soil surface.

[3] The magenta flowers reach a diameter of 4 centimeters, and the greenish fruits are 9 to 15 millimeters long.

[4] Ariocarpus scaphirostris is endemic to hot deserts gowning on shaly limestone in a single valley in Nuevo León, Mexico, at elevations between 950 and 1400 meters.

[1] First described in 1930 by Friedrich Bödeker, the specific epithet "scaphirostris" is derived from the Greek "skaphe" (ship) and the Latin "rostrum" (beak), referring to the shape of the wart tips.

[5] Bödeker's original spelling, "Ariocarpus scapharostrus," was corrected by D. R. Hunt, in 1991 to comply with Article 61.1 of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.