This striped squirrel was described from the Minshan Mountains of Sichuan, China. A 2026 multilocus study also recognizes it among the valid species of Tamiops.
In summer pelage it has five black back stripes: the middle three are strong and the outer pair faint. In winter the pattern changes, with one black middorsal stripe and four paler stripes.
The four studied specimens at Wanglang, Sichuan, were collected in moist habitat beside streams. The type locality has original fir and spruce forest with shrubs and grasses beneath the trees.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.