The Dinira small-eared shrew is known from the northeastern Andes of Venezuela, including the Sierra de Barbacoas and Macizo de Guaramacal.
The back is dark lead-gray and the underside slightly paler.
The lower incisor of Cryptotis dinirensis bears three small cusps visible from the side. This small Venezuelan mountain mammal differs from its relatives in details inside its mouth as well as in external appearance.
Its 2016 description compared twenty-six specimens of the population with other small-eared shrews and analysed skull and jaw measurements. The study re-examined mountain populations previously identified under other species names.
Alongside the three-cusped incisor, the size and position of an opening near the ear region of the skull helped distinguish the species. The authors emphasised the combination of these two characters. Detailed comparisons of tiny bones and teeth revealed diversity that conspicuous external markings alone had not established.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
The 2016 description reported that the two then-known populations occurred within conservation management areas in Dinira and Guaramacal national parks. Considering the habitat conditions reported at that time, the authors inferred that the species was not then under threat. Maintaining these mountain habitats and checking population conditions remain relevant conservation considerations.