It is a small shrew described from a specimen collected at Las Ashitas, 3,150 m, in northern Peru. Its back is dark gray-brown and covered with soft, dense fur.
The upperparts are dark gray-brown and the fur is soft and dense. The original description calls the tail medium-sized, at about 48 percent of head-and-body length.
The Peruvian Small-eared Shrew inhabits the highlands of northern Peru, among the Andes’ small shrew fauna.
In 2025, researchers compared museum specimens from Peru and Ecuador, including the female that anchors this species’ name. Partly open skull sutures indicated that she was still subadult.
Earlier descriptions had reported no small openings on the rear edge of a bone near the ear. Re-examination revealed conspicuous openings on both sides. This revised one feature used in identifying the species. The preserved specimen remained a reference for its name while allowing fresh observations of its anatomy.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
The 2018 Peruvian account identified agricultural and settlement expansion, deforestation and increasing mining concessions as threats to the population then known under this name. It recommended surveys of distribution and populations and assessment of those threats.