This rat was described from Halmahera Island. It has a gray-brown back, gray-white underside, and white-tipped bristles along the sides of its back. The described specimens were trapped in primary forest.
The back is brownish gray and the underside grayish white. Long, coarse fur contains spiny hairs, and bristles along the sides of the back have white tips.
All six specimens collected in the 2010 survey were trapped in primary forest. Traps were set in runways beneath fallen trunks, at burrow openings, and among tree roots.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.