This little known species is found in the western Indian Ocean off Tanzania and is named in honour of the American ichthyologist Margaret G. Bradbury.

Malthopsis bradburyae was first formally described in 2013 by the Taiwanese ichthyologist Hans, Hsuan-Ching Ho with its type biology given as the western Indian Ocean off Tanzania at 22°06'51"S, 39°54'E, from a depth of 100 m (330 ft).

[3] 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, bradburyae, honours the American ichthyologist Margaret G. Bradbury of San Francisco State University, in recognition of her contribution to the study of Ogcocephalid batfishes, and for her friendship with Ho.

[6] This species attains a maximum published standard length of 7.2 cm (2.8 in),[7] Malthopsis bradburyae is known from eight specimens collected in the Western Indian Ocean off the coast of Tanzania from the upper Continental shelf at a depth of around 100 m (330 ft).