Bristly catsharks were first discovered by Alfred William Alcock in the Indian Ocean in 1891. The specific word, hispidus, is thought to represent the papillae that generally appeared in species live in Andaman Sea.
Bristly catsharks were first discovered by Alfred William Alcock in the Indian Ocean in 1891, and the term "hispidus," which refers to the papillae found on species living in the Andaman Sea, was coined by him.