This genus consists of only two species:
Papyrocranus afer
Papyrocranus congoensis
The two species of Papyrocranus, P. afer (Günther, 1868) and P. congoenis (Nichols and LaMonte, 1932) only differ in the length and width of the head, P. congoensis having the shorter and wider head, it may grow up to 60 cm in against 80 cm in P. afer. Their common characters which separate them from any other notopterid are the absence of pelvic fins and the extension of the swimbladder into the bones of the skull. Papyrocranus afer 2 occurs in West Africa from Gambia to Cameroon with at least four distinct geographical colour varieties, - more or less marbled or spotted pale on dark ground. P. congoensis is restricted to the Congo basin. This genus has only recently been established by Greenwood, 1963 on the base of its peculiar extension of the swimbladder.