Notoscopelus kroyeri dorsal fin has 21 or 22 soft rays, the anal fin has 18 to 20 soft rays and the pectoral fins have 12 to 13. Like other members of the genus, it has many small photophores on the sides and flanks of the fish, arranged in a fashion that is characteristic to this species. Mature males have a gland consisting of eight or nine luminous scale-like segments on the dorsal surface of the caudal peduncle, but they lack the bioluminescent patches on the cheek and above the eye that are characteristic of some members of the genus. "N. kroyeri" is
Velvet belly lanternshark well-separated from one another. The coloration is brown above, abruptly transitioning to black below. There are thin black marks above and behind the pelvic fins, and along the caudal fin. The velvet belly possesses numerous photophores that emit a blue-green light visible from away. Varying densities of photophores are arranged in nine patches on the shark's sides and belly, creating a pattern unique to this species: photophores are present along the lateral line, scattered beneath the head but excluding the mouth, evenly on the belly, and concentrated around the pectoral fins and beneath the caudal peduncle. The maximum reported length