This terrestrial, nocturnal salamander occurs on herbaceous vegetation, epiphytes and leaf-litter, inside cloud forests with high humidity, and it has also been recorded from disturbed forest edges, such as roadsides in forest. During the day it is hidden in the deep litter or in the leaves of bromeliads (Tabares-P. 2012). The details of its breeding habits are not known, however it is thought to occur by direct development from the eggs, as with other congeners (W. Bolívar pers. comm. March 2017).

This species is endemic to the Andean forests of the central and western slopes of the Western Cordillera of Colombia in the Departments of Valle del Cauca (Brame and Wake 1972, Castro-Herrera and Vargas-Salinas 2008) and Cauca (Raffaëlli 2007), as well as the Departments of Chocó, Nariño, Risaralda, and Antioquia (Acosta 2007, A. Acosta Rymel Galvis pers. comm. March 2017). It has been found at elevations ranging from 1,700–2,610 m Asl (Acosta and Hoyos 2006). Its EOO is 23,695 km². It is considered a species complex and will probably have a smaller distribution and EOO after further taxonomic research, which is currently in progress (W. Bolívar and M. Rada pers. comm. March 2017).

Conservation Actions
This species occurs several protected areas, including Parque Nacional Natural Munchique and Parque Nacional Natural Farallones de Cali. It may also occurs in Tatamá National Park (W. Bolívar pers. comm. March 2017). The Corporación Autónoma Regional del Valle del Cauca (CVC) has classified this species as Endangered (S2), suggesting it is at high risk of extinction (Castro-Herrera and Bolívar-G 2010).

Research Needed
More information is needed on this species' distribution, population status, natural history, and threats. Taxonomic work is needed to determine if this form is a complex of more than one species.