The animals were buried alongside people in ancient Inca tombs at Machu Picchu in Peru.

[2] It was considered extinct by the IUCN in 2008,[1] but conservation status was changed to data deficient in 2016.

Photos of a rodent taken at Machu Picchu in late 2009 likely show this species,[3] a finding apparently confirmed in 2014.

[4] In 2020, as part of biodiversity study, a report was released with images that captured the rodent in the surroundings of Machu Picchu sanctuary.

[5] Originally assigned to the genus Abrocoma, recent studies showed it to be more closely allied to Cuscomys ashaninka, a species unknown to science until 1999.