The specific epithet maini was a tribute by the authors upon the retirement of Bert Main from the zoology department of the University of Western Australia.

[2] The rat typically grows to a size of 15 centimetres (6 in) in length with a mass of 100 to 150 grams (4 to 5 oz).

[3] It is an entirely terrestrial and nocturnal species, with a diet that consists mainly of seeds, fruit and some other vegetable matter.

[4] It is able to breed all year round but females are rarely found to be pregnant late in the dry season.

[5] Endemic to the sandstone massif of western Arnhem Land, the population is highly fragmented as a result of the topographic complexity of the deeply dissected plateau.