The warty frogfish was first formally described as Chironectes maculatus in 1840 by the French zoologist Julien François Desjardins with its type locality given as Mauritius.

[4] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the genus Antennarius in the family Antennariidae within the suborder Antennarioidei within the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes.

Frogfishes have the capacity to change coloration and pigment pattern in a few weeks: during coral bleaching events, they can even turn to plain white to blend in with the environment.

[7] However, the dominant coloration goes from white to black, passing through a whole range of related nuances such as cream, pink, yellow, red, and brown, often with dark, circular spots and/or with saddles.

This characteristic can help to separate them: usually, A. maculatus has red or orange margins on all fins and sometimes a spike of the saddle blotch starts posterior to the eye.

[8] As all frogfishes, A. hispidus is a voracious carnivore which can attack all small animals that pass within its "strike range", mainly fishes.