Original description as Leptocottus armatus:
- Girard, Charles Frederic. 1854. "Descriptions of new fishes, collected by Dr. A. L. Heermann, naturalist attached to the survey of the Pacific railroad route, under Lieut. R. S. Williamson, U. S. A". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 7:129-140 (ffm00543)
Conservation: Leptocottus armatus is not evaluated by the international union for the conservation of nature in the iucn red list of threatened species.