This tapaculo lives at high elevations in the western Colombian Andes. The entry follows canus as the current Paramillo Tapaculo and separates opacus, which was formerly included in a broader species concept.
The rear underparts of canus are uniform gray. The formerly included opacus can show brownish tones and dark bars; the original paper treats it as a separate species.
The original paper records canus in treeline scrub in the western Andes.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.