Acoording Duellman 2005: "This small lizard with keeled dorsal scales and pale dorsolateral stripe is most easily confused with Cercosaura ocellata, which also has black ocelli on the flanks but differs by having longitudinal stripes on the dorsum, higher keels on the dorsal scales, and a single frontonasal. Other gymnophthalmids with well-developed limbs, C. eigenmanni and Ptychoglossus brevifrontalis, lack pale stripes on the dorsum and ocelli on the flanks".