Compared to modern polypterids,
Bawitius was enormous: the
Bawitius holotype ectopterygoid is five times larger than the one of
Polypterus and the scales are unusually large, too: these remains suggest the living animal may have been up to 300 centimeters (9.8 feet) in length. The morphology of
Bawitius is different enough to justify its assignment to a new genus apart from
Polypterus. Unique features of the genus are, for example, an anterioposteriorly elongated contact between the
lateral process and the
maxilla, a high, narrow ectopterygoid and the presence of 14 teeth in the main tooth row. The scales are different, too, apart from size, from those of modern polypterids: they feature a discontinuous
ganoine layer, a rectilinear shape, and small articular processes. ==Ecological relevance==