Diagnosis: Profile tall, whorls rounded, with rounded, narrow shoulder; suture deeply impressed; periostracum thin, shiny, closely adherent, lip extending anterior to base of pillar; sculpture faint or absent; color pattern green, two tone, base lighter; operculum large, Alling aperture, outer surface strongly convex, glossy with terminal nucleus. Radula: Rachidian and lateral teeth each with three sharply pointed cusps. Type species: Boreancistrolepis excelsus n. sp. (HD).
Remarks: Differs from other Parancistrolepidinae, particularly the rather similar Neancistrolepis Habe & Sato, 1973, by its thick, solid, nearly smooth shell with a tenacious, glossy periostracum and large operculum with, glossy, convex exterior, which completely fills the aperture. One Aleutian species.