It is endemic to southern China and found in the Guizhou, Hunan, Guangdong, and Guangxi provinces.

Its type locality is Mount Dayao of Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County, Guangxi.

[3] The specific name inexpectatus is Latin meaning "unexpected" and refers to finding a species that is common in pet trade but lacked formal scientific description.

The venter is lighter and has reddish orange markings, some of them joining to form two longitudinal lines.

[1] Adult Pachytriton inexpectatus live in mountain rivers, including steep and shallow side streams.