The painted notie was first formally described in 1905 as Notothenia larseni by the Swedish zoologist Einar Lönnberg with the type locality given as Shag Rocks, South Georgia Island.

[3] The specific name honours Carl Anton Larsen who was the chief navigator on the Swedish Antarctic Expedition which collected the type specimen.

[4] The painted notie has a body which has a depth which fits into its standard length 4.5-7.7 times.

There is a single lateral line, the upper one, which consists of tubed scales.

The larvae hatch in September off South Georgia and in October off the Antarctic Peninsula.