This fish was first described by Hugh McCormick Smith and Lewis Radcliffe after its collection during the 1907-1910 United States Bureau of Fisheries Albatross Philippines expedition.

[2] The holotype (record number USNM 68398) is lodged at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.[3] The genus Amia initially allocated by the authors subsequently proved to be a synonym of Ostorhinchus, making its way via Apogon.

Its wider distribution extends through the Indo-Pacific from the Andaman Sea to Vanuatu and New Caledonia and as far north as southern Japan.

Generally found from 2–20 metres, adults rest during the daytime in floating mixed species groups with other Apogonids.

[9] Possibly because of the low water circulation, higher temperatures, and high oxygen consumption of some of the shallow branching corals into which O. compressus retreats from predators, it has been found to tolerate very low dissolved levels of oxygen, even at a temperature of 30 °C (which is likely to stimulate a relatively high resting metabolic rate).