A 2026 revision places this small striped possum in Dactylonax rather than Dactylopsila. After it was known only from fossils, living individuals were documented in lowland forest on the Vogelkop Peninsula of western New Guinea. Much of its natural history remains poorly known.
One adult female measured about 176 mm from head to body and had a tail about 180 mm long. A white band runs from above the upper lip to below the eye, and the fourth finger is long relative to the small body.
In 2023, an individual was photographed near Klalik in lowland forest on the Vogelkop Peninsula. Direct observations report that it moved close to the ground, jumping from one tree base to another. Records are few, and its habits are not well known.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.