Bathyteuthis species are found scattered throughout the world's oceans at mesopelagic to bathypelagic depths, commonly between 700–2,000 m (2,300–6,600 ft).

[3] Bathyteuthis are deep reddish maroon in colour and small in size, with none exceeding 80 mm in mantle length.

[4] The arms on Bathyteuthis are short, joined by a low, fleshy web, with suckers arranged in irregular rows (two proximally increasing to four distally).

[6] Bathyteuthis shares some characters with oegopsid squid and others with the Myopsida, hence its placement in a separate suborder, the Bathyteuthoidea, by some authorities.

However, buccal connective tissue with suckers and tentacle pockets in the head are characters found in myopsid squid, but absent in the Oegopsida.