[1] The crisscross prickleback was first formally described in 1894 by the American ichthyologist Tarleton Hoffman Bean with its type locality given as Monterey, California.

Bean did not explain what this alluded to but it may refer to the upper lateral line "curves very slightly" over the pectoral fin.

The specific name honors Timothy Hopkins, who founded the Seaside Laboratory at Pacific Grove on Monterey Bay, in recognition of his "services in behalf of science".

[5] The crisscross prickleback is distinguished from other taxa in the subfamily Stichaeinae by the upper lateral line, having many upward directed branches consisting of many small tubes, being joined to the middle lateral canal at each end.

[1] The crisscross prickleback's diet is made up largely of invertebrates, mainly mysids, amphipods, and shrimps, as well as mollusks.