Astronesthes richardsoni chin is ribbon-like and lacks a bulb or swelling at its tip. The dorsal fin has 12 to 14 soft rays and the anal fin has 13 to 18. The origin of the dorsal fin is behind the insertion of the pelvic fins. There is a dorsal adipose fin anterior to the caudal peduncle, and a small ventral adipose fin just anterior to the anus. There are two rows of photophores (luminous spots) on each side of the underside of the fish, numerous other photophores on the head and body and a luminous patch on the edge of the preoperculum;
Blurred lanternshark caudal fin with a well-developed lower lobe and a broad upper lobe with a ventral notch near the tip. The small, blocky dermal denticles are densely but irregularly arranged, each with a flat, truncate crown. The coloration is brown or gray above, with a pale spot over the pineal gland, and black below extending in faint markings over the sides of the head, under the pectoral fins, over the pelvic fins, and below the caudal peduncle. Like other lanternsharks, the blurred lanternshark possesses a species-specific light-emitting photophores, which are not placed in prominent bands. The diet of the blurred lanternshark