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
Yunnanilus macrogaster a short lateral line which has 6–10 pores and a line of pores on the head. The caudal peduncle is around 1.4 times as long as it is deep and its eyes have a diameter of slightly less than one fifth of the head length. It grows to a standard length of 63.2 mm. The body is yellowish with an irregular pattern of brown spots on its back and flanks with the dorsal surface of the head being darker and there is a dark patch on the operculum to the rear of the eye. The fins are hyaline and the