It lives in leaf-litter in lowland and premontane rainforest and breeds by direct development. Many species in the genus tend to be somewhat tolerant of habitat disturbance (F. Bolaños pers. comm. September 2019).

This species was previously only known from the humid premontane Pacific versant in extreme south-western Costa Rica, from 1,200-1,400 m asl. It is now also known from an additional site in lowlands (c. 200 m asl) of the Osa Peninsula (Refugio de Vida Silvestre Osa) and two sites on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica (Arias and Bolaños 2014, University of Costa Rica Museum Collection – Accessed 2019). A single museum specimen (ANSP 21663) collected in 1939 from Chiriqui, Panama has been assigned to this species (D. Wake pers. obs. 2006; see Hertz 2015), but its exact whereabouts is uncertain and hence it is not included in the distribution map. The extent of occurrence (EOO) of its mapped range is 9,020 km², which represents ten or fewer threat-defined locations.

Conservation Actions In-Place
A small part of its range is protected at the Estación Biológica Las Cruces, and it also occurs in the Refugio de Vida Silvestre Osa.

Conservation Needed
Incentives for private forest protection need to be continued and strengthened. Proactive, precautionary steps should be taken to detect the arrival of Bsal in Costa Rica and to establish a baseline by including the swabbing of salamanders encountered during routine amphibian monitoring activities in the country (Costa Rica Red List Assessment Workshop 2019).

Research Needed
Additional surveys are needed to better understand its distribution, population status, and trends.