[1][2][3] It is a small, dark-coloured, fully aquatic frog with a length of 28 to 36 mm (1.1 to 1.4 in), males being slightly smaller than females.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated this frog as "critically endangered" on the basis of its small area of occurrence at a single location, and the possibility that introduction of non-native fish into the lake could cause the frog to be wiped out.

[1] The lake in which it lives and the surrounding forest are an official government protected area (a "Plantlife Sanctuary").

This and the wider Kilum-Ijim forest (about 20,000 ha) have been subjected to a community forest conservation project facilitated by BirdLife International, the core work concluding in the early 2000s, but with minor projects continuing.

The general aim has been to research how to set up a captive assurance colony in event of extinction in the wild.