This rodent is distributed from southern Bolivia to northwestern Argentina. An integrative taxonomic study supports treating it as a species separate from O. paramensis, while recommending further study.
Specimens from near the nominal type locality of O. akodontius were described as dark overall, with less yellow at the tips of belly hairs and darker feet and tails. The same study did not find this coat difference to be a stable diagnostic feature across populations.
A specialist account of the older, broad O. paramensis group quotes field labels for the O. akodontius type series as noting burrows in moist soil. This observation is limited to those type-series specimens.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.