This antwren was described from Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Detailed records are limited to one male specimen collected in 1982. Its taxonomic status has been debated, but the Brazilian Records Committee recognizes it as a monotypic species.
The male specimen has bluish-gray upperparts and tail, with black on the chin, throat, lower cheeks, breast, and belly, fading to gray on the lower belly. It has a white eye ring and white tips on the black wing feathers.
The only well-documented specimen was collected in an isolated, heavily disturbed woodlot in the foothills of the Serra dos Órgãos in Rio de Janeiro state. This single record does not establish the species' preferred habitat.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.