[4] The family Ogcocephalidae is classified in the monotypic suborder Ogcocephaloidei within the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.

The specific name, bispinosus, means "two spined" , an allusion to well developed inner and outer tubercles behend the eye.

[6] Halieutichthys bispinosus has a flattened head and body which are widened into a rounded disc, with a moderately long tail.

The body is greenish to dark brown in color, with a pale reticulated pattern on its upper surface.

[8] Halieutichthys bispinosus is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean from Vitginia south to the Gulf of Mexico, including the northern Bahamas butit is apparently absent from Cuban waters.