[3] It was described by John E. McCosker and Richard Heinrich Rosenblatt in 1972.

It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central Pacific Ocean, including Costa Rica, Mexico, and Panama.

[4] It dwells at a depth range of 5 to 25 metres (16 to 82 ft), and inhabits benthic sediments of rock and sand.

Males can reach a maximum standard length of 113 centimetres (44 in).

[3] The IUCN redlist currently lists the spotted ridgefin eel as Least Concern, in spite of its limited distribution, due to a lack of known threats or observed population decline.