The banded bellowsfish has a very deep, nearly round, highly compressed body, with a depth which is equivalent to 38–62% of its standard length.

There are four well-developed bony plates located along the shoulder region, and the scales are modified into a coarse, teethlike form covering most of the body and head.

In the southeastern Atlantic Ocean, it is found along the coast of South Africa from Cape Columbine to False Bay.

[3] Unlike the seashorses and pipefishes, this species is oviparous, laying eggs which develop and hatch outside the body.

It has been recorded in the stomach contents of New Zealand smooth skates (Dipterus innominatus) sampled along the Chatham Rise.