It is found in the Pacific lowlands of northern and central Ecuador and western Colombia, northward on the Pacific slopes Panama and Costa Rica, as well as on the Caribbean slopes of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras.

[1][2] Teratohyla spinosa are small, green frogs with large, protuberant eyes.

Adult males have an exposed spine at the base of the thumb.

[3] Males call throughout the wet season (May–October) from the low vegetation surrounding small streams.

Females lay 18–25 eggs on the underside of vegetation in a single layer of loose jelly.