This small tapaculo occurs in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northeastern Colombia. It moves on the ground near leaf litter in dense understory of humid montane forest.
It is about 11.5 cm long. The upperparts are dark brownish grey, the rump and uppertail coverts tawny brown, and the flanks and lower belly rufous-chestnut. Juveniles are brown with black markings.
It is mainly terrestrial, moving among leaf litter and low vegetation. It occasionally climbs mossy, vine-covered trunks to about 1.5 m. Small invertebrates are presumed prey, but details are unknown.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.