[1] It was described by David G. Smith and James Erwin Böhlke in 1981.

[2] It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the western central Atlantic Ocean, including the Bahamas, Cuba, and the northeastern Gulf of Mexico.

It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 641 metres (0 to 2,103 ft).

Males can reach a maximum standard length of 55 centimeters (22 in).

[1] The species epithet "syntresis" means "channel" in Greek, and is treated as a noun in apposition.