The Vilcabamba Spinetail occurs in south-central Peru. Its 1984 description treated it as Cranioleuca marcapatae weskei; the 2025 Clements checklist recognizes it as a separate species.
The original description reports a dull white crown bordered by black, chestnut back and tail, white chin and throat, and grayish flanks.
The type specimens were recorded in cloud forest at 2,620–3,250 m in Peru’s Cordillera Vilcabamba.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.