The scalemouth jobfish has an elongated, slender body which at its deepest point is around a third in depth as its standard length.

It has a comparatively small, sharply pointed head with a convex intraorbital area.

[4] The scalemouth jobfish has a scattered distribution in the southern Pacific Ocean with records from Easter Island, Rapa Iti, New Caledonia and Tonga.

[1] The scalemouth jobfish was first formally described in 1973 as Pristipomoides squamimaxillaris by the American zoologist Harry T. Kami with the type locality given as Easter Island.

[7] The scalemouth jobfish is caught by handline fishing at Easter Island and Rapa Iti and the catch is sold fresh.