This cricetid mammal is recorded in Shimian County in southwestern Sichuan, China. The holotype was trapped at 2,390 m in grassland beside an alder plantation and broadleaf deciduous forest with abundant bamboo.
The adult male holotype measured 95 mm in head-and-body length and 37 mm in tail length, and weighed 24 g. In summer, the dorsal fur is about 7.5 mm long, gray at the base and yellow-brown at the tips. The crown, nose and area around the eyes are gray-black. Color changes gradually from the back to the underside; ventral hairs are gray-black at the base with faint yellow-brown tips. The tail is gray-black above and gray-white below. The ears project above the fur and have black hairs along the front margin and on the rear surface.
The description places the vole in moist broadleaf forest below 2,400 m, at about 2,200 m. The understory had bamboo with about 20% cover and grass about 40 cm high with about 40% cover. The soil was very soft and sandy, with about 5 cm of humus and surrounding boulders. The holotype was trapped at 2,390 m in grassland bordering an alder plantation and broadleaf deciduous forest; other specimens came from 2,238 m and 1,850 m. In early July, testes had descended in about half of the adult males examined, and no females were pregnant. In late July, about 33% of adult females examined were pregnant.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.