The species was described by Alfred William Alcock in 1873 and named in honour of James Wood-Mason.

There are no subspecies listed in the Catalogue of Life.

[3] The males can reach a length of 53 cm.

[4][1] The species is a deep-water fish that lives in depths from 1240 to 1829 meters (4070 to 6000 feet).

[4] The range of C. woodmasoni is the Indian Ocean off the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, as well as the Mascarene Ridge and the Ninety East Ridge.