This vlei rat lives in southwestern Ethiopia. A recent phylogenetic study records the species in forest clearings west of the Omo River.
The 1915 type description calls the back uniformly brown lined with buff and the underside slate-grey washed with buff.
A 2023 phylogenetic study places the species in clearings within forests of southwestern Ethiopia. Confirmed records lie west of the Omo River.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.