Studies on the compound eyes and chelicerae of Acutiramus has revealed that it would have had a comparably low visual acuity and claws adapted for slicing and shearing, rather than crushing.

This suggests that the ecological role of Acutiramus was distinct from that of other pterygotids, it potentially lived a lifestyle of ambush predation or scavenging on soft-bodied animals, feeding during the night or in otherwise low-light conditions.

[3] Acutiramus can be distinguished from other pterygotids by the distal margin of the chelae (pincers), where the final tooth is at an acute angle relative to the rest of the claw.

[1] Likewise, A. cummingsi was also once thought to have been the largest eurypterid (before the discovery of larger individuals in Acutiramus and Jaekelopterus), with fragmentary fossils suggesting great lengths.

The type specimen, the carapace of a young individual, was discovered in waterlime deposits of Upper Silurian age in Litchfield, New York.

[3] A. bohemicus was likewise first named as a species of Pterygotus in 1872 based on an incomplete coxa (L23505) from the Přídolí Formation, Upper Silurian in age.

[7] Furthermore, some Early Devonian Acutiramus fossils found in Australia have been tentatively assigned to A. bohemicus, although it is possible that they represent a new species.

[8] The species that would eventually be designated as the type species of Acutiramus, A. cummingsi, was described as Pterygotus cummingsi in 1875,[7] based on a fragmentary coxa (the base of the leg, with which it attaches to the body) of the fourth walking leg discovered during quarrying operations in cement rock near Buffalo, New York.

While it was obviously closely related to P. anglicus based on features of the telson, the two species could easily be differentiated by several characteristics, notably the fishhook-like shape of the teeth of the chelae (claws) and the direction they pointed in being different.

[3] Furthermore, Clarke and Ruedemann noted that P. macrophthalmus appeared to have a free ramus intermediate in shape between species of Pterygotus and A. cummingsi.

[11] A. floweri was described in 1955, based on a single fossilized claw (NYSM 10712), preserving the fixed and free rami and parts of the palm.

The fossil was recovered from Oneida Creek, located to the southeast of Kenwood, New York, in deposits that suggest that it lived in a lagoonal environment in the Ludfordian stage of the Silurian.

Additionally, the central and main tooth (measuring 5.7 mm, or 0.2 inches, in length) is pointed forward but lacks the serrations commonly present in other species.

[2] The fossil was recovered in a core from the Gulf Oil Corporation in Columbia County, Florida and was dated to have been Upper Silurian in age.

[14] A. perneri was named in honour of Czech paleontologist Jaroslav Perner in 1994 and is known from fossilized remains consisting of several chelicerae, operculum with a genital appendage, coxae and several fragmentary body segments.

[7] In addition, it has been demonstrated that the enigmatic arthropod Bunodella horrida from the Silurian, known from one single fossil, actually represents the coxa of a swimming leg of an indeterminate species of Acutiramus.

The type species of Bunodella, NBMG 3000 (housed at the New Brunswick Museum), is incomplete and poorly preserved, but shows the characteristic ornamentation of the pterygotids composed of semilunate scales.

An inclusive phylogenetic analysis with multiple species of Acutiramus, Pterygotus and Jaekelopterus is required to resolve whether or not the genera are synonyms of each other.

The cladogram also contains the maximum sizes reached by the species in question, which have been suggested to possibly have been an evolutionary trait of the group per Cope's rule ("phyletic gigantism").

[19] The chelicerae of other pterygotids mainly served grasping functions and could also potentially be used for crushing and puncturing in Pterygotus and Jaekelopterus, with large and robust claws.

[19] The differences from other pterygotids on the basis of visual acuity and the morphology of the claws indicates that Acutiramus occupied an ecological role distinct from other members of the group and was a significantly less active predator.

[19] The weaker visual system and shearing claws of Acutiramus suggest that it might have been an ambush predator, or possible a scavenger, that fed on soft-bodied animals, feeding during the night or in otherwise low-light conditions.

[20] In the Pozary Formation in the Czech Republic, Acutiramus occurs together with conodonts of various genera, including Ozarkodina, Wurmiella, Oulodus, Belodella and Pseudooneotodus.

[20][21] The Silurian-Devonian boundary did not have any noticeable impact on Acutiramus, with A. bohemicus evolving into A. perneri in Bohemia and still constituting a major part of the typical marine fauna present in its environment.