It is found on the Cordillera Oriental in Colombia (Cundinamarca, Boyacá, Santander, and Norte de Santander departments) and on its extension to north, Serranía del Perijá, in the Zulia state in Venezuela.

They have a truncate snout and shagreen dorsum with spinules.

[4] Centrolene notosticta is one of the few Centroleninae species in which females place egg clutches on undersides of leaves.

[5] The species' natural habitats are old growth cloud forests where it occurs on streamside vegetation.

Habitat loss and introduced species (trout) are threats, although it is not considered threatened as a whole.