The whitechin surgeonfish was first formally described in 2017 by Kent E. Carpenter, Jeffrey Taylor Williams & Mudjekeewis Dalisay Santos with its type locality given as Aurora Province, northeast Luzon in the Philippines.

[4] The whitechin surgeonfish has 9 spines and between 26 and 28 soft rays supporting the dorsal fin while the anal fin is supported by 3 spines and between 25 and 27 soft rays.

The caudal fin has a clearly crescent moon or lunate shape.

The overall colour of this fish is brown with many blue and dark stripes on the head and body.

[5] The whitechin surgeonfish is endemic to the Western Pacific Ocean, it is known from six specimens, all collected from fish markets on Luzon so information on the extent of its range, habitat and behaviour is very limited.