It is found in the Comoros, Madagascar, Mayotte, and Seychelles.

A flightless subspecies (sometimes considered a distinct species),[2] Dryolimnas (cuvieri) aldabranus (Aldabra rail), inhabits Aldabra, while the semi-flightless subspecies D. c. Abbott (Assumption rail) from Assumption Island went extinct in the early 20th century due to introduced predators.

[3] A fourth extinct flightless subspecies or descendant species is known from fossil remains on Aldabra, and anatomically was almost identical to the Aldabra rail.

This subspecies was wiped out by rising sea levels during the Pleistocene, but the atoll was recolonized by the white-throated rail after it resurfaced; this population evolved in a very similar way to the extinct subspecies, eventually evolving into the modern Aldabra rail.

[4][5] It is now the last living member of the genus Dryolimnas, and the Aldabra subspecies is believed to be the last flightless bird in the Indian Ocean.