Comephorus was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1800 by the French naturalist and politician Bernard Germain de Lacépède with Callionymus baikalensis as its only species.

The lateral line system on the head consists of large cavities linked by narrow, bony bridges with small external pores.

High lipid content and porous bones result in an almost neutral buoyancy[8] and lack of swim bladder allows the fish to tolerate varying pressure extremes as they move through the water column.

[8] There are currently two recognized species in this genus:[6] The common name golomyanka originates from the old-Russian golomen, meaning "far from the shore" in the local dialect and referring to their pelagic behavior.

[11] They are the principal ecological competitor to the omul, which also eat small golomyankas, and represent a primary food source for the Baikal seal, at more than 90% of its diet.

[10] Females containing developing embryos can be seen year-round,[7] but there does appear to be a level of seasonality in the birth, with the largest number of larvae occurring from August to April (some differences in the peak timing between the two species).

[7] They primarily feed on the planktonic copepod Epischura baikalensis, the amphipod crustacean Macrohectopus branickii and larvae of sculpins,[19] including those of their own species.

[5] Golomyankas are not harvested commercially, although their fats and oils were used in lamps and as traditional medicine by native Siberians when storms tossed the fish up on shore.