Its body was covered with small rhombic scales that show peg-and-socket articulation.

It is possibly also present in the Early Triassic of British Columbia, Canada; a species described as Acrolepis laetus by Lawrence Lambe has been tentatively referred to Pteronisculus.

Pteronisculus was originally referred to the family Palaeoniscidae, but was removed due to differences to Palaeoniscum.

[4] Based on similarities with the Late Triassic Turseodus, it was provisionally included in Turseoidae.

In the cladistic analysis by Ren & Xu,[5] Pteronisculus was recovered in a sister group relationship with the Carboniferous Cyranorhis, a genus that has been referred to the probably paraphyletic family Rhadinichthyidae.