[5] A recent study placed the Australian prowfishes into an expanded stonefish clade, Synanceiidae, because all of these fish have a lachrymal sabre that can project a switch-blade-like mechanism out from underneath their eye.

The specific name honours Frederick George Waterhouse, curator at the South Australia Museum, the collector of the holotype.

The large pectoral fins are situated low on the body and extend past the anus and have clear incisions on their rear edges.

It occurs as deep as 40 m (130 ft), living in sheltered reefs among sponges, seaweeds and seagrasses, it has infrequently been observed in floating algae.

[9] The whiskered prowfish's biology is little known, they are slow moving and shed their skin at regular intervals, probably to remove encrusting organisms.