The coloration of live individuals is reportedly dark gray or black with speckles on the upper surface, and lighter gray with spots on the underside, with vertical bands on the legs, a golden line over the iris, triangular patterns on the snout, white edges on the digit tips and a line of pale dots over the anus.

The large, pigmented eggs each measure around 3 mm (0.1 in) and are presumably laid on wet rocks where the tadpoles develop, rather than directly in the water.

Despite repeated surveys conducted on Mount Elgon from 2001 onwards, the Du Toit's torrent frog has not been recorded since Keith's sighting and has been feared extinct, though evidence remains insufficient to officially declare it as such.

While the exact causes of its decline remain uncertain, habitat loss and the fungal disease chytridiomycosis have been proposed as threats to the species.

During a survey on January 8, 1934, Cornelius Albertus du Toit discovered a species of frog in the Koitobos River on the eastern slopes of Mount Elgon in Kenya, about 7,200 ft (2,194.6 m) above sea level.

[1] The frog's natural habitat consists of rocky streams with cold, fast-flowing water surrounded by dense montane forest.

[2][6] The coloration of live individuals was recorded by Ronalda Keith in her field book when seeing this species in 1962, writing that they are mostly dark grey or black with speckled patterns on their upper surface.

The legs possess vertical bands of color, which are more prominent in juveniles, and the edges of the digit tips are slightly white.

[3] Like other members of the genus Arthroleptides, the Du Toit's torrent frog occurs in and around rocky montane streams, with the dark, mottled color of this species providing camouflage against the volcanic rocks in its habitat.

The species is oviparous, with an adult female kept in captivity by Keith recorded to have laid around 12 eggs, each encased in a strong jelly-like substance and adhered to each other to form a blob.

However, the organization's later assessments in 2004 and 2016 listed it as Critically Endangered instead, stating that evidence is lacking to formally declare it extinct, and inferring that if any individuals still exist, there would be fewer than 250 mature adults occurring in a single location.