This shrew is recorded in the Ethiopian highlands. Six specimens compared in 2016 had head-and-body lengths of 85–100 mm and tails of 57.5–69 mm, mottled brown and pale ochre.
The six specimens in the 2016 comparison measured 85–100 mm in head-and-body length and 57.5–69 mm in tail length. Their tails were mottled brown and pale ochre, unlike the uniformly colored tail of C. yaldeni in that comparison.
Three specimens examined in a 2001 paper were collected in the Aningeria belt beside the Shawe River in Harenna Forest, Bale Mountains, at 1,935 m. A 2016 study described the species as primarily inhabiting riverine habitats within forests.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.