[4] At various times the Roraiman barbtail has been treated as a member of genus Margarornis and as a subspecies of the stripe-breasted spinetail (Synallaxis cinnamomea).

Multiple genetic studies refute those treatments and support its placement in a unique genus.

[5][6] The species' English name and specific epithet derive from Mount Roraima, a prominent feature straddling the borders of Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana, and where the type specimen was apparently collected.

It is a dramatically patterned furnariid that resembles a Margarornis treerunner but is unique in its range.

Adults of the nominate subspecies R. a. adusta have dark blackish brown lores and ear coverts and a wide bright chestnut supercilium that extends around the nape.

Their tail is also chestnut; the feathers lack barbs at the end giving a spiky appearance.

[6] The Roraiman barbtail is found in the tepui region where Venezuela, Guyana, and Brazil meet.

It gleans prey from moss and epiphytes while hitching and creeping up trunks and along branches and vines.

[1] It has a fragmented range and is considered generally uncommon but "[r]ather difficult to detect [and] possibly overlooked".