The tawny-bellied cotton rat is a cotton rat with a buff-brown underside and a black, hairy tail. It lives in tall grass with scattered shrubs.
Its back has a salt-and-pepper coat, and its underside is buff brown. The tail is black with small scales and dense fur.
It hides nests and runways in tall grass and feeds mainly on grasses and sedges. Cultivated grains and vegetables, as well as insects, are also reported in its diet.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.