It is a brown frog with grey underside; the eyelids, middle of the back and snout are redder than the sides.

In size the species is small, with snout-to-vent body length around 15–19 mm; females are slightly larger on average than males.

Compared to the most other Cophixalus species in New Guinea it has poorly developed digital disks and the third toe is longer than the fifth.

The species has been found in montane forest at an altitude of around 2000 metres, where the frogs hide under surface leaf-litter during daytime.

Males call during night-time from cover; the specific name of the species verecundus, meaning 'shy' in Latin, refers to this behaviour.