[1][3][4][5] The specific name palava is a Central/West-African pidgin word meaning "problem" and alludes to the past confusion of this species with the morphologically similar Arthroleptis poecilonotus.

Skin is glandular and wrinkled in the posterior surface of the venter but otherwise just slightly tuberculate.

Ventral surfaces of the throat and body are grey to white with dark brown markings.

[2] Arthroleptis palava occurs in various human-modified landscapes, including eucalyptus plantations and farmland, and in grazed grasslands, at elevations of 1,000–1,900 m (3,300–6,200 ft) above sea level.

Development is believed to be direct[1] (i.e., there is no free-living larval stage[6]), as in related species.