It is endemic to a small mountainous area of Mexico where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

[2] The dwarf false brook salamander is endemic to the Cerro Baul Mountains in the eastern part of Oaxaca State, Mexico at an altitude of about 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) above sea level.

[3] The dwarf false brook salamander has been little studied but the female is believed to lay several eggs in a concealed site at the beginning of the dry season.

She then guards the eggs until they hatch into juvenile salamanders at the start of the rainy season, bypassing the aqueous larval stage.

[1] The dwarf false brook salamander is considered "Critically Endangered" in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.