It is endemic to South Africa and only known from the Klein Swartberg Mountain,[1][3] an inselberg near Caledon, Western Cape.

Adults are uniform dark chocolate brown in colour, with slightly paler, irregular dorsolateral bands that may become visible under bright lighting conditions.

The second type is a "chuckle" composed of 6–10 pulsed notes, making rough, squeaky sounding chirp that is quite different from the calls in other Arthroleptella species.

[2] Arthroleptella rugosa inhabit fynbos heathland vegetation and can be found in dense Restionaceae stands very near seepages[1][2] at elevations of 500–800 m (1,600–2,600 ft) above sea level.

In addition, the species has very small extent of occurrence (searches on neighbouring mountains have not revealed any specimens[2]), and has therefore been assessed as "Critically Endangered".