The ornate dogfish shark has two dorsal, or top, fins and no anal, or unpaired bottom, fin. The dorsal fins each have a large spine on the front edge. However, the rear dorsal fin and its spine are much larger relative to the front fin and spine. The large spine on the rear dorsal fin is typical of all of the sharks in this genus. The body color is blackish, with no conspicuous markings on its fins or tail. The upper and lower teeth have, narrow cusps, or points, as well as narrow cusplets.

Ornate dogfish sharks reach a maximum length of about 1.6 feet (about 50 centimeters). Little is known about their ecology. They are known only from the northern Indian Ocean, in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. They are deepwater sharks, living on or near the bottom, at depths of 1,710 to 4,140 feet (521 to 1,262 meters), and are of no importance in commercial fishing. (See also Dogfish sharks.)