The jaggedhead gurnard was first formally described as Peristethidion prionocephalum in 1869 by the French zoologist Auguste Henri André Duméril with the type locality given as Sulawesi.

This taxon was subsequently regarded as a junior synonym of Duméril‘s P. prionocephalum, although Smith's genus has been recognised as valid.

[3] The genus name Gargariscus means "gullet" or "throat", an allusion Smith did not explain but may refer to the wide band of teeth on the premaxillaries.

[4] The jaggedhead gurnard has a wide shield over the head,[5] with saw-like serrations along its margin,[6] and large barbels on the lower jaw.

[1] The head is triangular in shape and flattened with a short, wide process on the rostrum and a robust and sharp spine on the preoperculum.