[2] The species' specific epithet commemorates the German naturalist Alexander von Frantzius.

Its maxilla is mostly red, with a black culmen, yellow tip, and greenish base.

Adults have a black head, neck, and throat with a chestnut collar on the nape.

Their underparts are bright yellow with a red band across the belly and a black spot in the center of the breast.

[6] The fiery-billed aracari is found from the Gulf of Nicoya on Costa Rica's Pacific coast south into Panama's western Chiriquí Province.

[6] Fiery-billed aracaris typically travel in groups of about six or more individuals that sometimes include other toucan species.

[7] The fiery-billed aracari's diet is mostly fruit but it also feeds on large insects, the eggs and nestlings of other birds, and other small vertebrates.

[6][7] The fiery-billed aracari's breeding season in Costa Rica is January to April and may extend later in Panama.

It has a large range and an estimated population of at least 50,000 mature individuals, though the latter is believed to be decreasing.