The pink frogmouth was first formally described in 1846 by the Englaih naturalist Richard Thomas Lowe with its type locality given as Picos, 5 or 6 miles (8.0 or 9.7 km) west of Funchal off Madeira.

[5] The genus Chaunax is one of two genera classified by the 5th edition of the Fishes of the World within the family Chaunacidae, the sea toads.

[7] The pink frogmouth has a globular, slightly compressed body which tapers to a small, rounded caudal fin.

The lateral line is open and runs from the caudal peduncle to the head, with obvious canals connecting to branches under the eye, on the chin and along the lower flanks.

[2] The pink frogmouth is restricted to the Atlantic Ocean, records from other parts of the world are considered to be misidentifications.

[1] In the western Atlantic its range extends from New York to the Amazon, including the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.