This is named for the Latin 'fulvo' meaning tawny, yellowish brown and 'vita' meaning life.
The following is the original description of the holotype from Liberia by Cope (1861):
Tympanum concealed. Head elongate:, external nares lateral. Internal nares circular; eustacian orifices elongate oval. Tongue elongate, deeply bifid. Skin of the dorsal region smooth. Tibia longer than femur; fifth toe much shorter than the fourth, and longer than the third. Length of head and body 10.5 lines.
Coloration. Above pale yellowish brown (in spirits), with a light fulvous band upon each side, passing from the end of the muzzle to the thigh. Two bands of the same color extend one on each side of the vertebral line, and passing above the eye, become confluent on the muzzle. These band sare about as wide as the spaces of ground color they enclose. Beneath, light yellowish brown