Dermophis costaricense is a moderate-sized species: total length is . It is characterized by high numbers of both primary (107–117) and secondary
annuli (74–96). The annuli are not darkly demarcated ventrally, as seen in
Dermophis mexicanus, which is also a larger species.
D. costaricense appears to be closely related with
Dermophis gracilior from the Pacific versant of Costa Rica, and it is possible that these two species turn out to be the same species. However, as presently known, their ranges do not overlap and they can be distinguished based on the total number of annuli (higher in
D. costaricense). ==Habitat and conservation==