Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and torrential rivers.

[4] The frogs have eardrums recessed in the side of the skull, with an ear canal similar to mammals' anatomy.

It appears to have evolved this higher pitch (more than 20 kHz) frequency of communication to circumvent the background noise of its waterfall habitat.

H. cavitympanum is now considered the only member of this genus, but it was formerly a polyphyletic "wastebin taxon" with up to some 55 species.

Meristogenys tadpoles are furthermore characterized by a split and ridged upper lip not found in the Hole-in-the-head Frog, indicating that the genera should kept separate.