[4] The color of the armored rat range from black to reddish brown, and has a pure white underside.

They are similar in appearance to Tome's spiny-rat, but the eyes of the armored rat are smaller and they have a longer snout.

These burrows are usually positioned in steep banks close to a water source, and can measure up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) in length before reaching a nesting chamber.

[3] They are distributed from northern Honduras to northwest Ecuador, from lowlands up to around 800 metres (2,600 ft) in altitude,[3] including Panama's isolated Caribbean island of Isla Escudo de Veraguas.

Thrichomys (punaré) Callistomys (painted tree-rat) Myocastor (nutria) Hoplomys (armored rat) Proechimys