Bathylagichthys kobylianskyi n. sp. is described from specimens collected during fisheries surveys of the Exclusive Economic Zone of New Zealand. It was previously misidentified as B. problematicus, from which it differs in having fewer vertebrae (43-45 versus 49-51) and more gill rakers (usually 27-31 versus 25-28). Bathylagichthys kobylianskyi n. sp. is closely related to B. greyae of the Atlantic Ocean as both have two branchiostegal rays and a short supraorbital. The latter species differs from B. kobylianskyi n. sp. in having a more slender body, fewer gill rakers and modally higher number of vertebrae and anal-fin rays.