The fish has an elongated body of a uniform sallow yellowish color.

[1] The first specimen was found in Atlantic waters in August 1901 at a depth of 6,035 m (19,800 ft) in the hadal zone southwest of the Cape Verde Islands.

It was caught during an oceanographic cruise by Princess Alice of Monaco using a fish trap designed by her husband Prince Albert I.

[6] The genus to which this species belongs was initially named Grimaldichthys after the ruling family of Monaco.

[7] Other specimens of this fish were recorded later in the Pacific and the Eastern Indian oceans at depths between 5,180 and 7,160 m (16,990–23,490 ft).