It is endemic to the lower Amazon River in Brazil, where it inhabits várzea forests and tropical or subtropical swamplands.

The species usually forages in pairs, sometimes with mixed-species flocks, searching for insects, which it typically gleans from the bark and riverine debris, from undergrowth to mid-storey.

[3] During the flood season, the spinetail remains in the middle of the canopy near the water line, looking for insects floating upstream on rafts of vegetation.

Based on a model of future deforestation in the Amazon basin,[7] this species is expected to lose about half of its available habitat over three generations.

[3] The primary threat to this species is accelerating deforestation in the Amazon basin as land is cleared for cattle ranching and soy production, facilitated by expansion of the road network; it is thought likely to be particularly susceptible to fragmentation and edge effects.