It is endemic to the Andes Mountains in Ecuador, where it has been observed at 3190 meters above sea level.

The tadpoles live in cracks in the rocks underwater, within streams of the Rio Negro-Sopladora National Park.

[1] The scientists who published the first description of this species [Juan C. Sánchez-Nivicela, José M. Falcón-Reibán, and Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia][1] named this frog after author J.R.R.

Tolkien, explaining that they chose the name because "[t]he amazing colours of the new species evoke the magnificent creatures that seem to only exist in fantasy worlds.

"[3] They paraphrase The Hobbit in the introduction to their paper:[1] In a stream in the forest there lived a Hyloscirtus.