Scolopsis curite was first formally described in 1815 by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier following a figure drawn by Patrick Russell of a fish given the name Kurite in Visakhapatnam, India.

In 2022 a neotype was designated for this species and its type locality is Puducherry in Tamil Nadu.

[1] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the genus Scolopsis within the family Nemipteridae which it places in the order Spariformes.

[3] Scolopsis curite is very similar to S. vosmeri but it has a wedge shape black spot on the upper pectoral fin base, has no white band underneath the lateral line and in having greenish yellow, rather than black spots on the bases of the scales on the body.

S. curite is not easy to tell apart from S. japonica as they have very similar colours and patterns, however, in S. japonica the margin of the preoperculum is serrated or has a spiny edge while the preoperculum of S. curite is more robust and rough with a bony margin which has one or two rows of short blunt spines along its whole length.