It is endemic to eastern Brazil and occurs in the Atlantic forests of the Bahia, Espírito Santo, and Rio de Janeiro states.

[3][4] The specific name spixi honors Johann Baptist von Spix,[2][5] a German naturalist who worked in Brazil.

The dorsum is smooth but has a pair of well-developed dorsolateral folds from behind eye to hind leg.

The markings include an irregular interorbital backward-pointing triangle and chevrons in the suprascapular region.

[1] However, this information pertains to species delimitation that is broader (range extending north to Ceará)[1] than currently applied.