The piper gurnard was first formally described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae with its type locality given as "British Seas".

The specific name lyra means "lyre", an allusion Linnaeus did not explain; it may refer to the protuberances, plates and spines of the head together creating a lyre-like shape when looked at from above.

[5] The piper gurnard has a large head bearing numerous spines and ridges, but lacking a deep occipital groove.

[1] It is a deepwater demersal fish found at depths as deep as 700 m (2,300 ft) and prefers sandy and muddy substrates.

[7] The piper gurnard is not targeted, and not exported, in the eastern central Atlantic but it is caught and consumed on local scales.

However, in the Mediterranean this species is subjected to a commercial fishery and is a regular item for sale in markets in Morocco, Greece and Turkey, ad occasionally elsewhere.