This species is now considered endemic to Java but has been confused with the congeners H. gracilis (from eastern Peninsular Malaysia), H. velox (Sumatra) and H. bongan (Borneo) in the past, while the population formerly considered to inhabit northwestern Peninsular Malaysia has been described as H. divaricatus (Ng and Kottelat, 2013).

This is the most commonly-encountered representative of the genus in the aquatic trade though is by no means common. As in other members of the genus body colouration is highly variable, even among individuals collected from a single locality, although a few useful regularities have been observed which can be used to distinguish certain species. This is thought related to the fact that Acrochordonichthys spp. periodically shed their skins and appear paler post-moulting.

A. rugosus lends its …