[1] Other authorities classify this as a monogeneric subfamily, Atherioninae, of the Atherinidae, while others include it within the subfamily Atherinomorinae.

[1] The species within Atherion are characterised by having rough, sharkskin-like denticles around the mouth and in other places on the head.

The first dorsal fin has 3–6 spines while the second dorsal fin has a single spine and 8–13 soft rays.

The anal fin also has a single spine and has 13–17 soft rays.

Along the midlateral line they have a count of between 40 and 44 scales and they are small fish which grow to a maximum length of 5.5 centimetres (2.2 in).