 The genus "Acanthopleurus" is known from the species "A. serratus" Agassiz, 1844 and "A. collettei" Tyler, 1980 of the Oligocene of Glarus canton, Switzerland.A third described species "Cephalacanthus trispinosus" Ciobanu, 1977 from the Oligocene of Romania, formerly in the family Dactylopteridae, has been considered to be a juvenile specimen of "Acanthopleurus", though whether it belongs with one of the two described species or a new species is not yet determined.Depending on the sex the colored ring around the outside of the eye is different.