It occurs in shallow, coral-rich areas of clear lagoons and seaward reefs of the Indo-West Pacific region.

The masked spinefoot was first formally described in 1852 as Ampacanthus puellus by the German zoologist Hermann Schlegel with the type locality given as Ternate in the Molucca Islands in Indonesia.

There is a broad diagonal black band that runs through the eye and extends from the chin to the nape.

[7] The masked spinefoot has a wide Indo-West Pacific range which extends from the Cocos-Keeling Islands and the outer reefs of northwestern Shelf of Western Australia through Indonesia to the Ryukyu Islands and Kiribati, to southern Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia.

It is found to depths down to 30 m (98 ft)[1] in the shallow waters of clear lagoon rich in corals and on seaward reefs.

[2] Masked spinefoot juveniles school, especially over areas dominated by Acropora branching corals.