Stiff spiny hairs are mixed into its coat, and the tail is usually short. An older account describes a tawny-to-ochre back that lightens along the sides and includes forest specimen and observation records.
The 1948 species account describes a medium-to-large rodent with a usually short tail. The back ranges from tawny to ochre-buff, lightening toward the sides; the underside and upper surfaces of the hands and feet are whitish to light brown.
Moojen's account notes a specimen collected at night in forest and an observation that the animals lived in forest but also ventured into open places. These are historical, locality-specific records, not a complete account of activity or diet.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.