Scorpaena papillosa was first formally described in 1801 as Synanceia papillosus by the German naturalists Johann Gottlob Schneider and Johann Reinhold Forster with the type locality given as Matatuahu Point on the Tāwharanui Peninsula in the Hauraki Gulf of North Auckland on the North Island of New Zealand.

[5] The specific name papillosa means "papilose", a reference to the tentacles on the pored cells along the lateral line.

Its large mouth contains small, thin teeth that form velvety bands (villiform).

[3] This species is found in the Indo-West Pacific, in New Zealand and southern Australia.

[3] Scorpaena papillosa lives in marine, demersal, temperate waters, at depths of 5–50 metres (16–164 ft).