Chinese trumpetfish in shape to the anal fin which is just under. The pelvic fins are located in the middle of the body and are small, with one basal black spot. The body coloration can be uniform or mottled in a range of grey, brown, or dark green. Some fish are uniformly bright yellow. The rear part of the body is normally black with white dots. Two black spots are present on the tail. The compound set of the long caudal peduncle and the caudal fin is yellowish, whatever the fish coloration. Caudal fin usually has two round black spots, at least
Melanocetus murrayi fish, and the bioluminescent esca on the tip is oval, sometimes with a raised crest at the back. The second dorsal fin has 12 to 14 soft rays, the anal fin has 3 to 4, the pectoral fin 15 to 18 and the caudal fin 9. Females grow to a length of about and males to . "M. murrayi" has a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical to temperate parts of the world's oceans, between about 64°N and 43°S, and at depths from the surface down to over , although most of the individuals recovered have been at greater depths than .