This mountain rodent occurs on Sumatra. A 2020 survey recorded 85 captures, including one albino individual. The Mammal Diversity Database's 2025 change log records a transfer to Crunomys, while its current taxon page still displays Maxomys.
The albino male recorded in the survey had red eyes and no detectable melanin in its skin or coat. Its coat included soft underfur mixed with thick, flexible spines. This white coloration was a rare individual variant, not the species' usual appearance.
A November 2018 survey collected 85 individuals on Mount Singgalang in West Sumatra; only one showed abnormal coloration. The paper reports the species as common in the mountain's mid- to upper-montane forest, but the capture total does not estimate the mountain-wide population or the frequency of albinism.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.