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
Whitefin dogfish is distinctive in being the only "Centroscyllium" species with abrupt black markings beneath its head, trunk, and pectoral fins, with a black stripe running from under the caudal peduncle to over the pelvic fins. These markings are in fact concentrations of tiny light-emitting photophores. Unusually, this shark also has photophores along the undersides of its upper eyelids. What function these structures could serve is unclear; Tchernavin speculated that they could be used to illuminate prey or stimulate the eye. The rest of the body is gray-brown, with white fin margins. There are numerous small cone-shaped, hooked prickles over the body,