The upper parts are a coarse reddish-brown, flecked with spiny buff and black hairs.

The name kalubu, from which the scientific name is derived, is from the Ma'ya language of the Raja Ampat Islands.

Its presence in the Admiralty Islands is due to human introduction several thousand years ago, but not before 13,000 B.P.

[3] However, unlike Phalangeridae species (cuscus), which have historically been widely introduced and distributed by humans, the Peramelidae (bandicoots) have generally not been spread as much via human introductions.

[4] The Common echymipera is a host of the Acanthocephalan intestinal parasite Australiformis semoni.