[1] They are mid-sized rodents, similar to rats, that live on the ground of tropical rainforests.

There they build nests, padded with fallen leaves from trees.

They feed on roots, fallen fruit, and other plants, as well as insects.

When it became established as its own genus in the 1960s, Maxomys was often combined with the genera Niviventer and Leopoldamys.

In the currently accepted taxonomy, Musser, Marshall, and Boeadi established Maxomys in 1979.