It is a medium-sized opossum characterized by a large, oval, dark ears, fawn to cinnamon coat with a buff to gray underside, grayish limbs, and a furry tail.

This opossum has been captured from heavy, humid, tropical forests; it has been reported from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

A 1955 revision of marsupial phylogeny grouped Caluromys, Caluromysiops, Dromiciops (monito del monte) and Glironia under a single subfamily, Microbiotheriinae, noting the dental similarities among these.

The face is marked by two bold, dark stripes extending from either side of the nose through the eyes to the back of the ears.

These stripes are separated by a thinner grayish white band, that runs from the midline of the nose to the nape of the neck.

Differences from Marmosa species (mouse opossums) include smaller ears, longer and narrower rostrum, and greater erectness in canines.

[5] A study noted the morphological features of the opossum that could allow for powerful movements during locomotion, and deduced that it is arboreal (tree-living).

[1] The range has not been precisely determined; specimens have been collected from regions of Bolivia, Brazil,[9][13][14] Colombia,[15][16] Ecuador and Peru.