Toliapina lawsoni was a minute plesiadapiform and a member of Toliapinidae, one of the least well-known branches of the early euarchontan radiation. Its entire body cannot presently be reconstructed: the London Clay evidence is an isolated tooth, and toliapinids as a whole are known overwhelmingly from dental remains rather than associated skeletons.

The teeth nevertheless preserve a distinctive ecological signal. Compared with more primitive relatives, Toliapina developed lower, more strongly crested cheek teeth with enclosed crushing basins. Functional analysis indicates a mixed diet in which insects were supplemented by plant exudates such as gums or sap and probably soft fruits or seeds. That makes it a specialised tiny omnivore rather than simply an ‘insect-eating early primate’.

Its locomotion is much less certain than its diet. Arboreal habits are widespread among plesiadapiforms, but no postcranial skeleton of T. lawsoni demonstrates climbing adaptations, so an arboreal or scansorial lifestyle should remain a possibility rather than a stated fact.