Zhongjianichthys had a small, elongated, eel-like body. Notably, its head extends into a blunt, beak-like projection termed the antero-dorsal lobe, a feature also carried by
Haikouichthys but it is smaller. Moreover, the eyes are located posteriorly to the antero-dorsal lobe relative to
Haikouichthys. It also had thicker skin than
Haikouichthys or
Myllokunmingia, which is evidenced by the lack of visible myomeres. The posterior positioning of its eyes and the thickness of its skin are considered to be advanced characters by Shu, contrasting the former with the anterior position of the eyes in
Haikouichthys and the later
Jamoytius being the primitive condition and comparing the latter with the condition of modern lampreys and hagfish, which have an
epidermis consisting of multiple layers of cells versus the probable singular layer thereof in the other myllokunmingiids., a singular nostril, a pair of rostral plates anterior to its antero-dorsal lobe, and a set of simple gill arches. Possible vertebral elements have also been interpeted in the fossils. == Taxonomy ==