It can be found in humid forests over an area of 17,432 km2 (6,731 sq mi) between 400 and 720 m (1,310 and 2,360 ft) above mean sea level.

[3][4] The species was once found at Marojejy National Park, the most northern where it has been recorded, and Marolambo, the southernmost.

[5] The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classed C. cucullatum as s vulnerable species, as it is threatened by many factors such as the slash-and-burn method of agriculture.

Duméril and Bibron described it in 1836: 227 as Chamaeleo cucullatus, and Gray described it as Bradypodium cucullatum in 1865: 351.

In 1986, Klaver and Böhme described it as Calumma cucullata, and the same for Glaw and Vences in 1994: 247 and Necas in 1999: 274.