This shrew is known from Sierra de Yalijux in Guatemala. The three reported specimens were captured on a moist cloud-forest slope.
The dorsal fur is nearly black, and its longer guard hairs are usually about 5–6 mm long.
Female Cryptotis oreoryctes have been found pregnant in January in the Guatemalan highlands, carrying two or three embryos.
The 2012 field report documented 15 shrews from two localities. Two of seven females captured in January were pregnant. The surveys combined several trap types and recorded physical and reproductive features.
Separate specimen numbers identify the females carrying two and three embryos. The latter had conspicuously worn teeth. Alongside body form and size, preserved specimens retain information about reproductive condition when collected, adding clues to the breeding biology of a little-known mountain mammal.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Forest conversion to cultivation is a conservation concern in the Sierra Yalijux where this shrew occurs. A 2006 study compared satellite imagery from 1986 and 2000 and mapped forest loss around Chelemhá and the surrounding region. It also reported establishment of the private reserve and reforestation efforts. Retaining cloud forest and continuing to survey the shrew would support conservation.