The Serra do Mar Tyrant-Manakin lives in montane Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil. A 2023 paper describes its developed yellow crown patch and proposes the genus Protopelma.
The 2023 paper diagnoses a well-developed yellow crown patch, almost absent in the related Neopelma aurifrons.
The paper's species-level introduction places it in montane Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.