[3] This species is used extensively in the Guangdong and Guangxi province of China to treat scrofula, cough, and diarrhea.

Their species name, laternarius is derived from the Latin word later, meaning "made of bricks".

[6] This species of seamoth is generally found in muddy bottoms around 50 metres (160 ft), while the larvae is planktonic.

They rarely live other than several places in Japan where they are found in sheltered muddy areas.

It is found in China, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand in the Indo-West Pacific ocean.