It shares genus Aphrastura with the thorn-tailed rayadito (M. spinicauda) of the South American mainland.

[5][6] The Masafuera rayadito is found only on Alejandro Selkirk Island in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, about 670 km (360 nmi; 420 mi) off the coast of Chile.

It inhabits thick undergrowth in semi-humid to humid montane scrub and also wooded areas with much Dicksonia externa tree fern.

[5][9] As of September 2023, neither xeno-canto nor the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library had any recordings of Masafuera rayadito vocalizations.

[5] The IUCN originally assessed the Masafuerea rayadito in 1988 as Threatened, then in 1994 as Vulnerable, but since 2005 as Critically Endangered.

"Introduced mammalian predators are thought to have a significant impact on the population, with rats (Rattus spp.)

In addition, "a large proportion of natural vegetation on the island has been degraded and fragmented by goat-trampling, fire and timber-cutting".