[3] Helicolenus dactylopterus Was first formally described in 1809 as Scorpaena dactyloptera by the Genevan naturalist François-Étienne de La Roche with the type locality given as Ibiza in the Balearic Islands.

In the east, it ranges from Iceland and Norway to South Africa, including the Azores, Madeira and Canary Islands, and the entire Mediterranean Sea.

[2][7] The blackbelly rosefish is a bathydemersal scorpionfish, found in soft bottom areas of the continental shelf and upper slope.

reported age: 43 years[2] Blackbelly rosefish is a robust fish, with a large head and the spination described for the genus, and without tabs or tentacles.

Fertilization is internal,[2][13][14] as free spermatozoa were found primarily in resting ovaries from July through early December, with peak occurrence in September through November in the Western Atlantic.

[2] Occurrence during January through April of early-celled embryos, the most advanced stage observed, and postovulatory follicles indicated that oocyte development was rapid.

[2][15] The females can store sperm within their ovaries that allows them to spawn multiple batches of embryos, which are enclosed within a gelatinous matrix secreted into the ovarian cavity.

[14][18] There is another proposal that suggests further subdivision of the species into six subspecies, also based on morphological measurements and geographical distribution: H. d. dactylopterus, H. d. maderensis, H. d. maculatus, H. d. gouphensis, H. d. angolensis and H. d.

[9] In the western Mediterranean, blackbelly rosefish are mostly caught as bycatch in bottom trawl fisheries targeted at deep-sea crustaceans.