It has highly specialized habitat requirements, being found only in caves and rock grottos known as "guajonales" and in rocky stream banks covered with moss, ferns and other vegetation (Vega-Castillo 2000). Eggs are laid on damp boulder surfaces in grottoes, bamboo trunks and muddy substrates, and cared for by males and develop directly (Burrowes 2000, Longo et al. 2013). The area where this species occurs in the Icaco Valley is second-growth forest intermixed with line-planted timber trees, and few of the trees are over 30 years in age (Nelson et al. 2010). The presence of this frog in this area demonstrates that properly managed second-growth forests may play a role in conservation efforts of this species (Greenhawk 2013), as long as they are associated with granodiorite rock formations and perennial or ephemeral streams (A. Longo pers. comm. 2020).

This species has a restricted distribution and it is exclusively associated with the geomorphologic region known as 'Batolito San Lorenzo y Humacao', which includes Sierra Pandura and lowlands of southeastern Puerto Rico. Its elevational range is 26–421 m asl (López‐Torres 2008), its extent of occurrence (EOO) is 313 km², and all individuals occur in five or fewer threat-defined locations.

Conservation Actions In-Place
A small portion of the species' range occurs in Carite Forest, but most of its distribution is limited to privately owned lands. The Puerto Rican Conservation Trust, a local NGO, has acquired 70 ha securing some of the critical habitats for perpetuity (López-Torres and Longo 2013). It was listed as Threatened on the U.S. Endangered Species List in 1997 and its recovery plan was released in 2004 (USFWS 2004).

Conservation Needed
In view of the negative effects of anthropogenic climate change on this species and its habitat, national and global policies are needed to curb the use of and reliance on fossil fuels. Protection and restoration of the habitat of this species is urgently needed. Economic development should not be granted priority over currently federally protected natural resource areas in Puerto Rico and the protected status of such lands should be maintained. Community education and awareness programmes aimed to generate knowledge of and appreciation for Puerto Rico's endemic amphibians are recommended (Puerto Rico Red List Assessment Workshop 2020).

Research Needed
Future studies should assess the genetic diversity and patterns of gene flow (i.e. connectivity) between subpopulations (López-Torres and Longo 2013). Additional research and monitoring is needed, including efforts to understand the species-specific response to Bd and the effects of climate change (Puerto Rico Red List Assessment Workshop 2020).