Podocephalus nitidus was a small sparid, or seabream relative, from the London Clay. Its skull is low and gently sloping but narrows sharply above and in front of the orbits, producing a delicate anterior head. The preserved cranium does not show a specialised crushing dentition, so its ecology is best inferred broadly from sparid relationships rather than assigned to a particular diet.

The known fossils indicate a compact marine fish living in the diverse shelf ecosystem of the London Clay sea. The strongly constricted frontal region is an important part of its cranial architecture and shows that early seabream relatives had already developed a range of head proportions.