[1][3] This species was originally described in the genus Albericus,[2] named for Alberich, the dwarf in Scandinavian mythology and Richard Wagner's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen.

[2][4] Menzies named the species he described after Alberich's companions in the mythodology, in this case Swanhild.

[2] The type series consists of eight unsexed individuals measuring 14–15 mm (0.55–0.59 in) in snout–urostyle length.

[2] Choerophryne swanhildae occurs in mid-montane rainforest at 1,920–2,500 m (6,300–8,200 ft) above sea level.

Threats to it are poorly known, but it appears to tolerate some habitat modification from logging.