This species is presumably endemic to the Chaco region. It plays a large role in maintaining the ecological processes of the ecosystem: by digging burrows it buries leaf litter, thereby introducing sufficient humidity to allow for the decomposition of the leaf litter (Barreto et al. 2003).

This species is endemic to the northern Chaco which lies west of the Paraguay River in the northern Chaco, Paraguay (Honacki et al. 1982; Woods and Kilpatrick 2005). This species is only known from a single specimen which is lost, and therefore its geographic distribution has been debated. Until additional specimens matching the details of the holotype are collected, the type locality of C. dorsalis will remain ambiguous. This species might also extend into regions of Bolivia and/or Brazil that are adjacent to the Chaco Boreal region of Paraguay (Bidau 2015).

There is no information available about any conservation measures being made to protect this species. Further research is necessary to clarify the true status of this species.