[3] The pudgy cusk-eel is a common fish of deep oceans worldwide.

It is one of the largest bony fishes living below 2000 meters, reaching up to 127 centimetres in length.

It has a long, laterally compressed body and a rounded snout with a single fleshy anterior nostril in front of a flat posterior nostril.

[3] The fish varies in coloration from pale with white fins to light brown to dark brown; individuals from the Atlantic Ocean are often pale while Pacific Ocean specimens are usually darker.

[3] The fish is oviparous, the eggs floating in masses.