[4] In 1936 the American ichthyologist George S. Myers reclassified Scatophagus multifasciatus in to a new monotypic genus Selenotoca.

The specific name means multifasciatus "many banded", a reference to the dark vertical bars on the back and upper flanks of this species.

[6] The spotbanded scat has a deep, compressed body covered in vert small ctenoid scales.

The rear margins of the soft rayed parts of the dorsal and anal fins is diagonal.

[9] The spotbanded scat form schools over sandy areas in estuaries and in river mouths.