As of late 2023 major taxonomic systems treat the Bahia spinetail as a full species with no subspecies.

Adults have a wide cinnamon-buff supercilium and brownish gray lores and ear coverts.

Their crown and nape are bright orange-rufous and their back, rump, and uppertail coverts are rufescent brown.

It inhabits the undergrowth of montane evergreen forest, where it favors edges dense with vines, ferns, and bamboo.

Its habitat is badly fragmented and under pressure from forest clearing for agriculture, ranching, and logging.

Even the nominally protected Chapada da Diamantina National Park has suffered from illegal logging.