Notoscopelus caudispinosus has a laterally compressed head and body with a maximum length of about 140 mm (5.5 in).

[3] N. caudispinosus differs from closely related species in having fewer than 15 gill rakers.

It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean between the equator and about 35°N, but is absent from the Gulf of Guinea and the upswelling region off the coast of Mauritania.

It is also present in the western Atlantic, between about 39°S and 41°N, in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, and in parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

[5] N. caudispinosus faces no particular threats and has a widespread distribution, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as being a least-concern species.