[2] It is endemic to Southeast Brazil and occurs in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states.

[1][3] It is named after Émil Goeldi, a Swiss zoologist who worked in Brazil.

[8] Stomach contents have been found to contain insects (cockroaches, Coleoptera, lepidopteran caterpillars), earthworms, and plant material.

Tadpoles have been collected under large rocks in a moderate-sized forest stream.

It is threatened by habitat loss caused by forest clearance and infrastructure development, and by pollution.