Cryphalus dorsalis is a small bark beetle (subfamily Scolytinae, family Curculionidae), 1.60–1.90 mm long and found in southern parts of Asia with a distribution range from India in the west to Java (Indonesia), the Philippines and southern China in the east.

In a detailed re-description of the species based on light trap material and specimens without host plant records, Johnson et al. (2020) mentioned that fir (Abies) has been cited as a host plant in one publication which recorded it from Hainan Island (China) where Abies does not grow.

[3] Cryphalus dorsalis can be identified by the combination of its size, a transverse ridge on the male frons, the arrangement of scales and spatula-shaped setae, as well as the smooth elytra.

In profile, the anterior part of the pronotum is slightly curved, not strongly rounded or domed as in some species of this genus.

For example, as of April 2024 the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) lists it 3 times: a) as a separate species, b) as a synonym of Hypoborus ficus, and c) as Cryphalus dorsalis Wood, 1969.