[3] It was first described by British-Belgian zoologist George Albert Boulenger in 1911, from a specimen collected in the Okavango River in the Lake Ngami district of Botswana.

Like all members of the genus Synodontis, S. woosnami has a strong, bony head capsule that extends back as far as the first spine of the dorsal fin.

[2] In S. woosnami, the spine of the dorsal fin is about ⁠5/6⁠ the length of the head, slightly curved, smooth in the front and serrated on the back.

[4] All members of Syndontis have a structure called a premaxillary toothpad, which is located on the very front of the upper jaw of the mouth.

[4] On the lower jaw, or mandible, the teeth of Syndontis are attached to flexible, stalk-like structures and described as "s-shaped" or "hooked".

[8] As a whole, species of Synodontis are omnivores, consuming insect larvae, algae, gastropods, bivalves, sponges, crustaceans, and the eggs of other fishes.