In front of and behind the eyes there are usually paired, clear spines that show a species-specific expression (see also Acanthotaxy of Heteropterygidae).

The anterior supra antennals are distinct but small spines and point slightly outwards.

The anterior coronals behind it are strongly flattened laterally, lamellar and about as high as the supra orbital.

In addition to the development of the structures on the head, the formation of the fourth tergite of the abdomen is typical of the species.

In addition to the described structures on the head, pronounced spines on the legs are characteristic of the females of Orestes subcylindricus.

A male collected in 1927 in the Hòa Bình Province, which is deposited in the National Museum of Natural History, France in Paris, is also assigned to this species.

[2][1] The nocturnal animals, like all members of the genus, are capable of an almost perfect phytomimesis by aligning their legs and antennae along their bodies and so hardly from a short broken branch are to be distinguished.

In 2018, Joachim Bresseel and Jérôme Constant recognized Zompro's error and revalidated the species and formally transferred it to the genus Orestes (comb.

They also described the females in detail with regard to the structures on the body surface (acanthotaxy), as well as, for the first time, males and eggs of this species using animals collected from them between 2010 and 2016.

'Cuc Phuong' designated stock of this species goes back to six males and four females, which Bresseel and Constant had collected in July 2011 in the Vietnamese in the Cúc Phương National Park.

They left some of the collected animals to Rob Krijns, who was able to successfully have the species reproduce.

Since the species was identified, the stock has been referred to as Orestes subcylindricus 'Cuc Phuong', stating where it was found.

He only rediscovered the actual Orestes subcylindricus in 2021 at the type locality of the species in Mau Son.