[4] It was described by James Douglas Ogilby in 1898, originally under the genus Congrellus.

[5] It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including the Gulf of California, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Colombia.

[4][1] It is a benthic and nocturnal species, and inhabits sand flats in reefs, bays and coves at a depth range of 1–100 metres.

[6] Due to its widespread distribution, lack of known threats, and lack of observed population decline, the IUCN redlist currently lists the Gilbert's garden eel as Least Concern.

[1] Named in honor of ichthyologist and fisheries biologist Charles Henry Gilbert (1859–1928), who reported this species as A. balearicum in 1891 but noted variations in his specimens[7]